Keeptruckin Secures $190M Funding for AI Development | Fleet Management

KeepTruckin Secures $190 Million in Series E Funding

KeepTruckin, a developer of both hardware and software solutions for trucking fleets, has successfully completed a Series E funding round, raising $190 million. This investment elevates the company’s valuation to over $2 billion, as confirmed by CEO Shoaib Makani.

Investment Details

The funding round saw participation from G2 Venture Partners, a firm recently establishing a $500 million fund dedicated to modernizing established industries. Existing investors, including Greenoaks Capital, Index Ventures, IVP, Scale Venture Partners, and funds managed by BlackRock, also contributed to this financing.

Strategic Investment Focus

KeepTruckin plans to reinvest the newly acquired capital into its suite of AI-powered products. These include its GPS tracking systems, Electronic Logging Device (ELD) compliance tools, and dispatch/workflow management solutions.

A key area of focus will be enhancing its smart dashcam technology. This device is designed to instantly identify unsafe driving behaviors, such as distracted driving due to cell phone use and tailgating, and provide real-time alerts to drivers.

Proven Safety Improvements

According to client Usher Transport, the implementation of KeepTruckin’s Smart Dashcam, DRIVE risk score, and Safety Hub has resulted in a notable 32% annual reduction in accidents.

Edge Computing Capabilities

Makani emphasized the company’s unique ability to develop and deploy complex AI models on edge devices, even with limited processing power, memory, and bandwidth.

“We’ve created proprietary intellectual property to address challenges presented by varying environmental conditions, including low-light situations, inclement weather, obscured visibility, and image distortions,” Makani explained to TechCrunch.

Machine Learning Platform

Achieving this level of precision necessitates billions of accurately labeled data points. These are processed and refined on KeepTruckin’s internal machine learning platform.

The platform incorporates intelligent annotation features to automatically categorize data, enabling the neural network to simulate a vast range of scenarios and replicate real-world performance.

Freight Industry Outlook

A 2020 McKinsey study indicated that while the freight industry may not replicate last year’s 30% year-over-year growth (compared to 2019), certain sectors are poised for faster expansion.

Specifically, commodities linked to e-commerce, agriculture, and food products are expected to lead the recovery, while growth in electronics and automotive may be more moderate due to shifting consumer spending habits.

Significant Growth and Expansion

Since the onset of the pandemic, KeepTruckin has experienced 70% annualized growth, largely driven by its expansion into new markets.

These include construction, oil and gas, food and beverage, field services, moving and storage, and agriculture. The company intends to leverage the new funding to accelerate its growth and bolster its AI development teams.

R&D Team Expansion

KeepTruckin plans to double its Research and Development (R&D) team to 700 individuals globally, with a particular emphasis on recruiting engineers specializing in machine vision, data science, and other AI disciplines.

“Creating user-friendly interfaces for non-technical users is paramount,” Makani stated. “Therefore, we are also prioritizing front-end and full-stack engineers with expertise in building intuitive mobile and web applications.”

Future Applications in Autonomous Vehicles

Makani believes that much of KeepTruckin’s technology will ultimately contribute to the advancement of autonomous vehicles and enhance road safety.

He acknowledged that fully autonomous trucking (Level 4 and Level 5) remains several years away but emphasized the immediate benefits of their AI-powered dashcam in preventing accidents and improving driver safety.

“While the potential of autonomy is significant, we are focused on delivering value to companies through our current technology,” Makani concluded.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/17/mobility-startups-can-be-equitable-accessible-and-profitable/