London-based logistics provider Raft raises $30 million in Series B funding round

London-based logistics provider Raft, formerly known as Vector.ai has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round. According to the company the new capital will be used to further R&D efforts. Since late 2018 the startup has now raised approximately $48 million.

Raft’s $30 million Series B round was led by Eight Roads with existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Episode 1, and Dynamo Ventures participating alongside new investor Moguntia Capital.

Offering some 60+ customers, including EMO Trans, OIA Global, The Scarbrough Group, NNR Global Logistics, and Navia Freight and 40% of Armstrong and Associates’ top 25 global freight forwarders list, automation services across the entire freight journey, Raft intends to use the $30 million to increase the development and deployment of existing and future products. This bolstering of the product catalogue includes improvements in data collaborations across the ecosystem, including but not limited to emissions and visibility data.

“We founded Raft as an AI-first company because we saw an opportunity to empower freight forwarders and customs brokers with technology, and take pressure off their operational teams so that they could focus on their customers instead of their keyboards,” commented Raft CEO and co-founder James Coombes.

The overall goal is to alleviate the pressures that are surrounding those that get your goods to your doorstep. Mainly, they’re addressing lower revenue as rates and volumes drop post-covid and rising costs from high staff turnover and wage inflation through AI-powered tools that aim to automate a number of these previously manually operated procedures.

“We see AI as an enabling force for a new way of working in logistics. AI can help make sense of complex and sometimes chaotic human processes, allowing them to be completely digital for the first time as well as more efficient and collaborative. Our services are more relevant than ever before and we’re excited to build on the foundation of almost 6 years of data and expertise in deploying cutting-edge AI to the logistics industry.”