The tech boom in the freight logistics space keeps growing. And it doesn’t seem like it’s poised to stop anytime soon. In fact, Sennder, an online platform and marketplace that aims to link up commercial shippers with smaller freight carriers, just raised $70 million in a series C round of funding. The funding infusion was spearheaded by Lakestar but had participation from Accel, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, Project A, Siemens’ Next 47, and Scania Growth Capital.

Sennder was born out of Berlin in 2016 and is self-described as a “digital road freight forwarder.” Their platform’s goal is to modernize and automate an industry that for too long has relied on paper, phone calls, and faxes. These old school devices are hindering productivity and bottom lines.

The platform is constituted using various tools, including a mobile app which allows drivers to view and agree to loads, fleet management tools for trucking companies, and logistics management data for the shippers.

With this platform, Sennder, participants are able to view real-time arrival information regarding their goods. This info includes the precise location of a shipment and users will also receive automatic notifications of delays as a result of traffic or for whatever reason.

The European Market

As it stands, Sennder is primarily zeroed in on the European market which they estimate the freight market there to be worth in the ballpark of $400 billion. Sennder is just a small part of what amounts to a global drive to digitize a stubbornly inefficient industry.

In total Sennder has raised $100 million this year. It won’t reveal, however, how much it has raised since it was founded. But with this new juicing of funding the company is planning to expand across some emerging markets and ‘develop its technology and operational capabilities.’ This is a according to a company statement.

What do you all think of the truck industry’s attempts at modernizing?