Yc-backed Oway Raises $4m To Build A Decentralized ‘uber For Freight’

Thousands of semi trucks that trim crossed nan U.S. road strategy each time are harboring a secret: they’re only about half full.

That inefficiency represents a multi-billion dollar opportunity. And 1 that a fewer companies for illustration Uber Freight and Flock Freight are already chasing arsenic portion of broader business models that lucifer motortruck drivers pinch companies trading goods. 

San Francisco-based startup Oway is seeking retired a narrower business exemplary that much intimately resembles Uber for freight, particularly connected nan astir inefficient long-haul routes. But it’s a exemplary that nan startup believes tin standard large capable to make an effect connected nan country’s economy.

Oway, founded successful 2023 and backed by Y-Combinator and General Catalyst, precocious closed a $4 cardinal seed information successful pursuit of that goal. Founder Phillip Nadjafov told TechCrunch investors person bought into Oway’s conception because his institution has already developed a measurement to trim nan costs of shipping a pallet crossed nan U.S. by 50%, utilizing a clever substance of caller and somewhat aged technologies.

There’s artificial intelligence, of course, successful nan shape of instrumentality learning that Oway developed to thief find and lucifer cargo pinch quiet trailer abstraction and a convenient destination (or a short detour). Oway is besides automating a batch of nan modular shipping and security archiving that goes pinch freight. 

But Oway’s ride-share cargo transportation is made imaginable by what’s known arsenic “electronic logging devices” (ELDs) that are installed connected nan trucks that traverse our country.

ELDs became government-mandated astir a decade ago, portion of a push to make trucking safer and much businesslike by eliminating insubstantial logbooks. This makes it harder for shippers and drivers to skirt nan national rules connected maximum driving time, theoretically cutting down connected fatigue.

The devices person been a root of contention for galore drivers worried astir excessive surveillance. And there’s immoderate grounds that nan promised information benefits whitethorn beryllium offset by an summation successful fierce driving since drivers can’t fudge their hours arsenic easily.

But nan devices are nevertheless nan cornerstone of what Oway is doing, because ELDs besides made it imaginable to support tabs connected nan nonstop location of a motortruck successful real-time.

With this information, Oway tin activity pinch shippers to place destinations adjacent to an already-planned route. When location is quiet abstraction connected nan trailer — which location often is, according to Nadjafov — Oway tin thief customers spot cargo successful those trailers astatine a fraction of nan emblematic cost. 

The consequence is Oway claims it tin bring nan costs of moving a sub-2,000-pound palette betwixt Los Angeles and Dallas from astir $220 down to arsenic debased arsenic $60. 

“You shouldn’t request to person to bargain a full 50-something-foot motortruck to move [something] crossed nan state successful bid to get bully pricing,” he said. “If you person a azygous container complete 100 pounds you want to move it crossed nan country, you should beryllium capable to, now, pinch existent technology, beryllium capable to do that. And this is simply a immense problem we person successful America.”

That disconnect, Nadjafov argued, creates higher shipping rates and user prices, but besides leads to much emissions and much idle clip for truckers. He believes Oway tin lick this and is already moving pinch large companies pinch thousands of vehicles successful their fleets, though he said he can’t disclose who they are because they’ve asked for nan relationships to enactment backstage for now.

The measurement Nadjafov pitches it, Oway’s business exemplary combines immoderate of nan champion aspects of nan 2 main ways freight gets shipped by trucks successful nan U.S.

One exemplary is known arsenic “full truckload,” which involves motortruck trailers being packed pinch goods, often successful work of 1 shipper. These shipments typically spell from constituent A to constituent B, offering quicker transportation but astatine a higher price.

The different exemplary is what’s known arsenic “less-than-truckload” shipping, which typically involves aggregate shippers sharing abstraction connected a azygous truck. This lowers nan cost, but it takes longer, arsenic nan equipment often person to bounce betwixt aggregate trucks and warehouses earlier making it to their destination.

Nadjafov’s committedness is that Oway tin execute nan velocity of afloat truckload shipping pinch nan costs and dynamism of less-than-truckload. What’s more, by shipping much equipment connected nonstop long-haul routes, that freight is little apt to get damaged since it’s not being unloaded and re-loaded arsenic it goes from a motortruck to a storage and backmost again.

Oway is doing each this successful what Nadjafov describes arsenic “decentralized,” meaning it is not trying to bargain retired full trailers-worth of space, and is moreover moving pinch different brokers successful nan manufacture connected apical of nan carriers and shippers.

“We want Oway to beryllium elastic truthful that 1 time caller businesses and industries could beryllium built connected nan caller applications of this infrastructure,” he said.

Nadjafov said Oway has already received liking from companies successful different countries, but that his startup is focused connected nan U.S. for now — successful portion because Oway is only 12 people, but besides because of really reliant this state is connected trucking.

“Trucking is simply a trillion dollar manufacture and nan quiet abstraction arena itself is simply a $100 cardinal problem,” he said. “It’s going to be, I think, a very transformative activity for nan full commerce and logistics assemblage of America complete nan adjacent 10 years, because I judge that this will beryllium fundamentally nan de facto measurement that astir businesses are going to move things around.”