Toronto-based trucking data startup FleetOps has rebranded to Class8 and secured a $30.8-million CAD ($22 million USD) Series A round.
The all-equity round predominantly featured US investors, led by Xplorer Capital with participation from Commerce Ventures alongside return investors Inspired Capital and Resolute Ventures. The round also featured a follow-on investment from Canadian firms BCF Ventures and Panache Ventures, which both invested in Class8’s seed round, to protect their pro rata rights.
Company says it currently processes data from 227,000 trucks.
Class8 CEO Chris Atkinson told BetaKit in an email statement that the number of American investors wasn’t indicative of raising capital in Canada.
“We just aligned better with American investors during this fundraise,” Atkinson said. “We have no bias to the US, and will seek more Canadian investors in the future.”
Founded in 2017 by Atkinson, Class8 is a freight marketplace that matches truck drivers with shipment opportunities using vehicle data and artificial intelligence (AI). Class8’s platform provides transport trucking companies with tracking, vehicle inspection reporting, fuel profitability calculations, and automated scheduling for its drivers. Atkinson told BetaKit that the new funding will be sued for the expansion of its product.
Class8 says it uses the electronic logging devices (ELDs) integrated into transport trucks by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), meaning truckers don’t have to install any extra hardware to use its platform. The company says it currently processes data from 227,000 trucks, and has raised approximately $40 million CAD to date.
Toronto-based Terminal is another Canadian company offering a monitoring solution to trucking fleet managers. A Y Combinator graduate, the startup closed a $3.1-million USD ($4.2 million CAD) seed round last December to expand its team. Terminal offers its own API, which allows insurance products and fleet software access to GPS data, speeding data, and other digitized vehicle stats collected through ELDs.
Class8 claims it sets itself apart from other tracking or management providers by using the data to benefit carriers with features such as automated load planning and real-time pricing.
Class8 previously raised a $6-million seed round in 2020, which was co-led by Inspired Capital and Resolute Ventures, and included participation from Canadian investors BCF Ventures and Panache Ventures. BCF Ventures CEO and partner Sergio Escobar told BetaKit that his firm participated in Class8’s Series A round as a follow-on, pro-rata reinvestment.
UPDATE (12/2/2024): This article has been updated with information and comment from Class8 CEO Chris Atkinson.
Feature image by Marcin Jozwiak on Unsplash.