We analyse the investments made in Marketplace Transporte from a corporate finance perspective. On 30 May 2018, Ontruck received funding worth €25m from Cathay Innovation, the main investor, and many others.
Who is Ontruck
OnTruck is the first innovation-driven logistics and transport company, founded with the ambition to ship goods. Its team of professionals has international experience in the technology logistics sector (short and long distance road transport and warehouse management). Their clients include the prestigious sportswear company, Decathlon.
Founded in 2016, OnTruck is one of the many startups trying to 'digitise' the freight transport market. The aim of the transport company is to have the best global network of operators to make transport contracting as efficient as possible.
Its proposal in terms of reliability is to seek punctuality and security in shipments thanks to its incident prediction technology and network of qualified carriers. They also guarantee more than 20,000 carriers and assignment technology to make a vehicle available to customers when they need it. In the same way, they manage to be an efficient company thanks to the technology applied to route and price optimisation, and they reduce the environmental impact thanks to minimising empty kilometres. And finally, for the customer's convenience, there is a web-based shipment management and tracking system.
Investors and reasons for the transaction
Madrid-based OnTruck, thanks to a recent €25M investment, has built a "transport technology platform" to better match supply and demand in the road freight industry. The agreement took place on 30 May 2018.
The round was led by Cathay Innovation, a global venture capital fund that supports digital entrepreneurs by connecting the US, Europe and China simultaneously. Also, other funds participated such as: Samaipata Ventures, a Spanish venture capital fund that invests in the e-commerce start-up and transactional market, Point 9 Capital and many other investors. Some of the investors already invested in the last Series A round.
Analysis of operations in the marketplace transport sector
| Company | Description | Country | Amount | Date |
| Fontier Car Group | Frontier Car Group is a startup that develops, initiates and operates used car markets within emerging market economies. | USA. USA. | $89M | 24/05/2018 |
| Zagster | Zagster is a transportation provider offering turnkey bike sharing systems in the United States. | USA. USA. | $15M | 21/02/2018 |
| Takeoff Tech | Takeoff Tech is a platform that allows existing retailers to sell their food products online and take care of the transportation. | USA. USA. | $12,5M | 31/01/2018 |
| HCT Group | HCT Group is a transport company operating London commercial bus routes, school bus routes and Park & Ride services. | UK | $180M | 10/02/2018 |
| Getaround | Getaround is a mobile application and peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace that allows car owners to rent out their cars. | USA. USA. | $45M | 20/04/2018 |