The Amazon boss wasn’t the only one to invest in in the British company as Uber founder Travis Kalanick and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt have also chose to invest.
Beacon was founded in 2018 by chief executive Fraser Robinson and chief operating officer Dmitri Izmailov, both former Uber executives.
On Sunday, the UK-based freight forwarder Beacon, formed by two former Uber executives less than two years ago, said in a statement that the UK-based freight forwarder start-up had raised an upsum of $15 million in a Series A fundraising from heavyweight investors such as Amazon.com Inc.
Pierre Martin, the company’s chief technology officer, previously worked at Amazon.
The startup says its aim is to “become a global leader in logistics and trade finance by making trade simpler, more transparent and reliable”.
Beacon’s platform, which is powered by artificial intelligence, calculates cost-effective and speedy shipping routes features for freight shipments.
“Freight forwarding is a key but arcanely managed industry on which the world’s supply chains depend on”, Mueller said.
Freight forwarding is a trillion-dollar global industry, and Beacon wants to act as the booking agent between importers and exporters while providing trade logistics and finance services, Sky News reported today.
“With digitalisation accelerating globally because of COVID-19, we consider the way forward for the normal freight forwarder is extra precarious than ever”, CEO Fraser Robinson mentioned in an announcement. Shippers are seeking technology-led products and services that will meet their needs more effectively, enhance their experience and cut their costs.
