Vooma Secures $16.6 Million to Build an AI-Powered Agent for the $1T Trucking Industry
QUICK TAKE
- Vooma’s multi-channel AI platform and agent dramatically improve productivity in the logistics sector.
- Since its launch in 2023, Vooma has attracted many of the logistics industry’s top brokers and carriers as customers, with revenue growing by 12.5x and transaction volume increasing by over 32x.
- The company has announced $3.6 million in seed funding, led by Index Ventures, and a closely followed $13 million Series A round.
- Vooma was founded by Stanford University graduates Jesse Buckingham, former CEO of ASG LogisTech, and Mike Carter, founding engineer at Kodiak Robotics.
- Angel investors include founders and executives from major logistics and technology companies such as Motive, Project44, Ryder and Uber Freight.
INDEX PERSPECTIVE
In every town and city around the world, there are supermarkets, bodegas, cafes, and restaurants that depend on a global supply chain to stock their shelves and kitchens. Logistics is one of the biggest industries globally, but it is both invisible to most and extremely specialist – two factors that have historically resulted in a lack of tech innovation.
At Index, a core AI thesis we’re focused on is applications that sit close to the daily workflows a company, team, or individual uses. We believe the shift from vertical software to vertical AI is a crucial one, as specific tools are required to solve problems that large, generic AI models simply cannot address. We’ve identified several sectors – from healthcare to engineering, cybersecurity to financial services – where AI can free up skilled workers to do what they do best. Logistics, which Vooma is addressing, is another.
To build and commercialize these vertical tools, startups must have intimate knowledge of their customer’s pain points and processes, along with the ability to execute from both a technological and commercial perspective. Vooma’s co-founders have this rare expertise in logistics and trucking. Jesse previously served as CEO of a group of Alpine SG-owned logistics technology businesses, while Mike was the founding engineer at Kodiak Robotics, which builds self-driving technology for trucks.
Many of the industry's top brokers and logistics companies already use Vooma’s technology. What’s more, when we began asking contacts and connections about the need for such tools, many responded that not only is this urgently required, but that they’d love to invest. This is a massive end market with a serious hunger for, and need to, adopt technology – and there aren’t many Stanford-educated entrepreneurs like James and Mike with the industry context and capability to create the required solutions.
THE DETAILS
One of the clearest use cases for AI is removing daily admin tasks from skilled workers, automating the processes they must complete each day so they are free to concentrate on the high-value work they excel at.
That’s exactly what Vooma is doing for logistics specialists through its powerful AI-powered agent that can handle admin-heavy, repetitive work such as quote building, email responses and data entry. In an industry that is very much focused on personal relationships and trust, this allows reps to spend their time solving complex problems for customers, building relationships, and providing the best service possible.
Powered by Vooma Agents, the company has launched three products that address different pain points in a logistics specialist’s workflow:
- Vooma Quote identifies quotes, drafts email responses and determines whether opportunities were won or lost, saving up to five minutes for every quote.
- Vooma Build is a data-entry assistant for load building that completes the admin-heavy order entry process within seconds. With up to 80% of an order entry automated, teams can save up to 10 minutes on each load build, and reduce errors.
- Vooma Voice – the company’s newest product launch – can make and receive calls for brokers and carriers to streamline tasks such as inbound load bookings, appointment scheduling and carrier check calls.
Since launch, Vooma’s revenue has grown 12.5x and increased transaction volume by over 32x. Many of the logistics industry’s top brokers and carriers, including Echo, MODE, Arrive Logistics and NFI, are now using the platform.
“Relationships are critical for our company’s success,” says Jack Twyman, Chief Customer and Digital Officer at MoLo Solutions, a top-15 freight broker. “Vooma’s platform effectively integrates with our systems and allows our team and our customers to gain efficiency, without changing how we do business. We can offload rote tasks to stay focused on customer service and work that requires the human touch so we can keep building meaningful relationships to drive our business forward.”
Vooma was founded by Stanford University graduates Jesse Buckingham, former CEO of ASG LogisTech, and Mike Carter, who was employee #2 and founding engineer at Kodiak Robotics.
“The United States moves approximately 11.5 billion tons of truckloads annually, and moving freight from point A to B requires hundreds of touchpoints between shippers, brokers and carriers,” explains Jesse. “By introducing AI that fits naturally into existing systems, workflows and communication channels used across the industry, we are meaningfully reducing the tasks people dislike and freeing up their time and headspace for more meaningful and complex challenges.”
Based on its strong momentum and novel technology, Vooma has secured $3.6 million in seed funding led by Index Ventures and a $13 million Series A round, led by Craft Ventures, with participation from Index. Vooma will use the funds to continue hiring across engineering, sales, customer success, and support to meet growing demand for its Vooma Quote, Build and Voice products.
Published — Dec. 4, 2024
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