Truck Dispatching Platform Raises $12M in Funding

SmartHop has raised $12 million in a Series A financing round to continue investing in its full-service truck dispatching platform, which helps owner-operators compete with big carriers by reducing operational costs, streamlining load booking, and providing access to broker networks, according to the company.

The company will use financing from its Series A round to grow its team and seek partnerships that enable small trucking companies to make decisions that boost revenues and give them more control of their business, SmartHop officials said in a press release.

The funding round was led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from Ryder System’s new corporate venture capital fund, RyderVentures, and Equal Ventures and Greycroft.

Since the company’s launch in 2018, SmartHop has raised $16.5 million to help small owner-operators in the spot market pick the best loads from the largest pool, reduce deadhead miles based on proximity and availability of load opportunities, and navigate fluctuations in the spot/contract market.

The platform connects owner-operators with a dispatch tool that helps them plan more profitable routes, provides them discounted fuel prices, offers faster access to money at rates 1% to 2% below the market, and offers insurance costs about 13% lower than retail prices, SmartHop officials said.

SmartHop has also partnerd with Ryder to offer independent truckers and small fleet owners access to lower monthly and per-mile lease rates with bumper-to-bumper maintenance costs built-in, reducing total cost of ownership by 18%, SmartHop officials said.

In less than a year, SmartHop has already booked over 6,000 loads.