On-demand trucking service Convoy has officially launched after it raised $2.5 million in seed funding from an investment group that included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and other high-profile investors.

Convoy is a Seattle-based startup company that provides an Uber-like service for booking on-demand shipments and that also allows users to track shipment location. Trusted carriers in Convoy’s network will receive notifications of these jobs on their smartphone.

Carriers are all pre-approved by Convoy, licensed by the government, and carry cargo insurance. They complete jobs using Convoy’s mobile app, which also doubles as a tool for managing and growing their fleets.

For shippers, Convoy’s online portal offers immediate access not only to available trucks,  but also to pricing information, which is calculated instantly based on distance, weight, and other variables.

The company is now operational in Washington State, centered in the Seattle-Tacoma area.

In addition to Bezos, other investors included Salesfoce.com CEO Marc Benioff, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, KKR CEO Henry Kravis, Code.org founders Hadi and Ali Partovi, Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and others.

“Technology gives an edge to companies that adopt it early, and this is happening in trucking right now,” said Dan Lewis, Convoy’s founder and CEO. “I’ve seen firsthand how much potential this has to improve people’s lives and I think the day will come when shippers and truckers won’t remember how they did things without Convoy.”

For more information on Convoy, click here.

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