Trucks VC Launches New Funds for Transportation Startups

Trucks Venture Capital Launches New Funds for Transportation Innovation

Trucks Venture Capital, a venture firm specializing in early-stage transportation companies, has announced the launch of two new investment funds designed to foster advancements within the industry.

New Fund Details

The firm’s primary fund, Trucks Venture Fund 2 (TVF2), successfully concluded its fundraising period, securing $52,525,252 in capital. This fund benefits from backing by three automotive manufacturers, three automotive component suppliers – ranging from bicycle producers to manufacturers of Class 8 trucks – and a single telecommunications corporation, as stated by Trucks VC.

Complementing TVF2, the Trucks Growth Fund will offer capital for later-stage development to the most promising companies currently within the Trucks VC investment portfolio.

Investment Focus: Safer, Cleaner, and More Accessible Transportation

“Our core objective is to provide funding to companies dedicated to making transportation systems safer, more environmentally friendly, and more readily available to all,” explained Reilly Brennan, General Partner at Trucks VC, in a statement to TechCrunch.

Investments categorized as “safer” may include companies concentrating on autonomous vehicles, driver attentiveness systems, and vehicle upkeep and enhancements. The pursuit of “cleaner” transportation focuses on technologies like battery and charging infrastructure, electric and hydrogen-powered vehicle platforms, and efficient last-mile delivery solutions, given the current emphasis on zero-emission transport.

Companies prioritizing “more accessible” transportation options, such as micromobility solutions and public transit improvements, are also key targets for investment, according to Brennan.

Automated Vehicles and Logistics

Trucks VC also places significant emphasis on the potential of automated vehicles, particularly within controlled environments like agriculture, mining operations, and logistics networks. Brennan suggests that automated logistics solutions are poised to surpass the value of robotaxi services.

“We anticipate that future exits in these sectors involving autonomous vehicles will significantly exceed the valuations seen in previous robotaxi acquisitions, such as those of Cruise, nuTonomy, and Zoox,” Brennan noted.

Beyond Micromobility

The firm is actively seeking opportunities beyond the current micromobility landscape. Recognizing a potential resurgence in innovative ideas within the B2B sector, hardware development, and operating systems, Trucks VC is strategically positioned to identify emerging companies in these areas.

These criteria will guide investment decisions for both new startups considered for TVF2 and for the Growth Fund.

Introducing the Trucks Growth Fund

The Growth Fund represents Trucks VC’s inaugural formal structure for supporting companies in later stages of development, although the firm has previously made select follow-on investments.

“The impetus for this fund stemmed from our engaged community of newsletter subscribers (FoT), who consistently expressed interest in investment opportunities,” Brennan explained. “Inspired by the rolling fund platform pioneered by Naval Ravikant at AngelList, we’ve adopted a similar structure for our Growth Fund, making us, to our knowledge, the first venture fund to do so.”

Potential Growth Fund Investments

Initial investments from the Growth Fund may include companies like Universal Hydrogen, Gatik, and Bear Flag Robotics, as indicated by Brennan.

TVF2 has already made seed investments in Universal Hydrogen – a Los Angeles-based company focused on hydrogen storage and conversion technologies for commercial aircraft – which recently secured $20.5 million in Series A funding led by Playground Global.

Additional TVF2 Investments

Furthermore, TVF2 participated in a $17.5 million Series A funding round for Swyft, a company aiming to compete with Amazon in the same-day retail delivery market, and provided seed funding to Token Transit, a mobile ticketing application.

Investment Strategy and Past Successes

Trucks VC typically makes up to eight investments annually from its core seed funds, while the Growth Fund will target one to two companies per quarter. Founded in 2015 and based in San Francisco, the fund boasts successful prior investments in companies like Joby Aviation and DeepScale, which was acquired by Tesla.