Convoy
IndustryTrucking software
Founded2015
Founders
  • Dan Lewis
  • Grant Goodale
Defunct2023
FateOperations shut down
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington
Websiteconvoy.com

Convoy was an American trucking software company[1] co-founded by CEO Dan Lewis and CTO Grant Goodale.

On 25 July 2017, the company raised $62 million in Series B funding, led by Y Combinator's Continuity Fund. Other new investors included Cascade Investment CEO Bill Gates,[2] Mosaic Ventures, former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, and Barry Diller. This round of funding brought Convoy's total amount raised to $80 million.[3]

They joined existing Convoy investors Greylock Partners (the VC fund of LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman), Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos via Bezos Expeditions, former Starbucks President Howard Behar, Code.org founders Hadi and Ali Partovi, and the founders & CEOs of eBay, Instagram, KKR, and Dropbox, among others.[4]

Convoy was awarded GeekWire's 2017 Startup of the Year.[5]

In 2018, Convoy raised $185 million led by CapitalG at a $1 billion valuation.[6]

In 2019, Convoy raised $400 million, led by Generation Investment Management and T. Rowe Price at a $2.75 billion valuation.[7]

On 18th October 2023, Convoy canceled all shipments amidst rumors of an upcoming transition.[8]

On 19th October 2023, Convoy ceased operations and laid off remaining staff. Remaining staff were given no severance and were told their stock options were worthless.[9] In a memo sent that day to employees, Lewis points to "a massive freight recession and a contraction in the capital markets" as major factors resulting in the company's failure.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Bass, Dina (November 1, 2016). "Trucking Startup Convoy Inks Its Biggest Deal With Unilever". Bloomberg.com.
  2. ↑ Calfas, Jennifer (July 25, 2017). "The Startup That Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos Are Both Invested In". Fortune.com.
  3. ↑ "In a first deal of its kind, Convoy lands $62 million led by YC's Continuity Fund". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  4. ↑ Konrad, Alex (July 25, 2017). "Called The 'Uber For Trucks,' Convoy Raises $62M To Fend Off Uber Itself". Forbes.
  5. ↑ Taylor, Soper (May 4, 2017). "Revealed: Winners of the 2017 GeekWire Awards". GeekWire.
  6. ↑ "On-demand trucking app Convoy raises $185M at $1B valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  7. ↑ "Convoy raises $400 million to expand its on-demand trucking platform". TechCrunch. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  8. ↑ Kingston, John. "Convoy cancels all shipments, load board is empty, announcement upcoming". Frieghtwaves. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Convoy collapse: Read CEO's memo detailing sudden shutdown of Seattle trucking startup". Geekwire. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  10. ↑ de León, Riley. "Bezos-backed freight firm Convoy shuts down after slashing hundreds of jobs. Read the CEO's memo to employees". CNBC. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
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