sennder raises $160m to accelerate digitalization of European trucking and drive expansion

- Surpassing a $1bn valuation, sennder, Europe’s leading digital road freight forwarder, now ranks among the most valuable European technology start-ups

- $100m allocated to digitalizing European trucking by expanding sennder’s proprietary technology offering

- Additional funding to drive expansion into new European markets with a focus onstrategic partnerships

Berlin, January 14th, 2021 – sennder, Europe’s leading digital road freight forwarder, announced that it has raised $160m in Series D financing, surpassing a $1bn valuation. New investors led the round, which involved all of sennder’s existing investors who reaffirmed their confidence in the company vision and direction. Round participants included Accel, Lakestar, HV Capital, Project A and Scania. To date, sennder has raised more than $260m.

Since its founding in 2015 by David Nothacker, Julius Köhler and Nicolaus Schefenacker, Berlin-based sennder has grown remarkably, increasing its headcount to more than 800 employees across its seven international offices. The business will move over 1 million truckloads this year, making sennder Europe’s leading digital road freight forwarder.

Through its proprietary technology, sennder directly connects enterprise shippers with trucking companies, bringing greater transparency and efficiency to both carriers and shippers. sennder is committed to making the logistics industry fit for a sustainable future; by using data to optimize route efficiency, sennder reduces the environmental impact of road freight and decreases the cost of transportation.

The European logistics and freight sector has a market size of $427bn. sennder plans to capitalize on this opportunity by investing $100m of its Series D financing into growing and developing its innovative technology. The investment will expand the 200-person technology team and accelerate research and development into the automation, digitalization, optimization and decarbonization of road freight. Additional funding will be channeled towards driving expansion into new European markets. sennder will focus on replicating the success it has had with Poste Italiane where, through the Italian joint venture, sennder has helped the business save 6% of its €100m annual spending. sennder is also enjoying successful working partnerships with Scania and Siemens.

Supplying transport services to over 10 organizations listed in the German DAX 30, and 11 companies comprising the Euro Stoxx 50, sennder is well-positioned to connect small and mid-sized trucking companies with established shippers – providing them with access to loads.

David Nothacker, CEO and Co-Founder of sennder, said: “I’m very proud to see sennder’s mission and vision become a reality. We are now an established industry player on equal terms with other more traditional sector pioneers, but have maintained our founding spirit. As a data-driven company, we contribute to making the logistics industry fit for a sustainable future; ensuring transparency, flexibility and efficiency in the distribution of goods. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of a digitalized logistics industry. Throughout 2020, we helped our carriers increase their profitability by enhancing operating margins by up to 80% during a challenging time. sennder is uniquely positioned to drive industry digitalization, benefiting shippers and carriers alike.“

The funding follows a remarkable year for sennder. In 2020 the business undertook two notable transactions: firstly, merging with French competitor Everoad in June and secondly, acquiring Uber Freight’s European business in September.

Sonali De Rycker, Partner at Accel says: “It is always fantastic to see a portfolio company reach such a significant milestone. Well done to the sennder team – by revolutionizing the freight industry at an unprecedented pace, they have quickly become one of Europe’s most exciting companies. 2020 highlighted the value that sennder’s innovative digital offering brings to the freight industry. 2021 is well-positioned to be another exciting year for the business. We look forward to helping sennder continue accelerating its growth across Europe.”

Christoph Schuh, Investment Partner at Lakestar says: “Just 18 months ago, we led sennder’s Series C fundraising. Ever since, sennder has successfully demonstrated its ability to massively grow the business organically and via M&A. We are delighted to see sennder now positioned as a leading pan-European digital freight-forwarder. Especially in these unprecedented times, sennder shows how important digitization is for the logistics industry, paving the way for an efficient future. We strongly believe in the leadership team and will further accompany sennder’s success journey.”

J.P. Morgan Securities plc was the sole placement agent for sennder’s latest Series D funding raise.

In the Baltic states “sennder” is represented with the office in Latvia. The office was opened in March 2020, in Riga and is led by Managing Director Deniss Ivanovs. Since then the sennder Baltic team has grown to 25 people and could attract many customers not only across the entire Baltic region. In 2021 “sennder” is planning to further increase the vector of rapid growth in the Baltic States and open new vacancies.

Looking for a job? Go to www.sennder.com/carreer and apply for open positions in 7 different countries, including Latvia.

 

About sennder
sennder was founded in 2015 by David Nothacker, Julius Köhler and Nicolaus Schefenacker and is now the leading digital European freight forwarder, offering shippers access to our connected fleet of thousands of trucks. In a traditional industry sennder is moving fast and focuses on the digitalization and automation of all road logistics processes. sennder manages over 10,000 trucks across Europe with an over 800-people strong team. By leveraging its proprietary technology, sennder builds an ecosystem that leads the industry into the 21st century with a new degree of transparency, efficiency and flexibility. sennder is backed by some of Europe’s leading investors including Accel, Lakestar, HV Capital, Project A, Next47, Scania Growth Capital, Earlybird and Perpetual. Additionally, sennder joined forces with industry champions Scania and Siemens to assure innovation and state of the art offerings.

For further information, please visit us on our website and LinkedIn.