Eight Roads VC leads $30M Series B for freight forwarder Raft

During the pandemic, freight industry digitisation rocketed. Nuvocargo $75 million, Zencargo $66 million, Forto $600 million, and Freightify $14.5 million. All streamline/digitize freight logistics.

Freight forwarders and customs brokers had to keep up. Vector.ai, founded in 2017, raised a $15 million A-round led by Bessemer in 2021 to automate these tasks using machine learning.

Vector is now Raft, and machine-learning is now “artificial intelligence.”

Eight Roads VC led a $30 million Series B funding round for Raft, which included Bessemer Venture Partners, Episode 1, Dynamo Ventures, and Moguntia Capital.

Raft, founded in 2017, helps logistics companies use AI for tasks and customer interactions. Raft serves EMO Trans, OIA Global, The Scarbrough Group, NNR Global Logistics, and Navia Freight from its UK, India, and US offices.

“We recognized early on the pain points around accounts payable reconciliation and customs entry preparation, and we’ve since grown the product to help automate areas like warehousing, booking confirmations, and more,” said James Coombes, CEO and Co-Founder.

Raft’s shipment portal lets customers share internal and third-party data with end-customers, including multi-source container visibility, emissions reporting, and quote-to-book, according to the company.

“The team has leveraged a combination of industry expertise and cutting-edge AI to build a product that delivers immediate value to its customers,” said Eight Roads Partner Michael Treskow. Raft can solve many more industry problems.”