AI logistics startup Augment, from Deliverr’s founder, raises massive $85M Series A

Augment, an innovative logistics startup founded by Harish Abbott, who previously co-founded the e-commerce shipping platform Deliverr, has successfully raised $85 million in a Series A funding round. This significant investment, led by Redpoint and supported by firms like 8VC and Autotech Ventures, comes just five months after the company launched from stealth mode with a $25 million seed round. Recognizing the potential for automation in the logistics sector, Abbott developed Augment to tackle the multitude of manual tasks in freight shipping. At the heart of Augment is 'Augie,' an AI assistant designed to alleviate the burdensome responsibilities of freight shippers, carriers, and brokers. Abbott emphasized that many professionals in logistics spend their days managing emails, documents, and communications, which could be streamlined with Augie's capabilities. Currently, Augie can manage seven essential tasks in the logistics workflow. These include gathering and evaluating pricing bids from trucking companies, monitoring package deliveries, optimizing load combinations to enhance truck space, and collecting invoicing documents to ensure timely billing. By facilitating communication across various platforms like voice, email, Slack, SMS, and Telegram, Augie helps to minimize the back-and-forth exchanges typically required in logistics. While Augment has not disclosed specific revenue figures, Abbott revealed that the startup has more than doubled its customer base since its seed funding, with clients like Armstrong Transport Group already reporting productivity improvements, including a 40% reduction in invoice delays. Jacob Effron, a managing director at Redpoint, noted the overwhelmingly positive feedback from Augment's clients, indicating a strong market demand for the AI solution. The recent funding will primarily be allocated towards expanding the engineering team by 50 members and enhancing Augment's features. Abbott commented on the complexity of the logistics market, which he described as fragmented and outdated, necessitating a robust engineering effort to integrate with various existing software systems. Although Augment currently focuses on the trucking segment, Abbott has ambitions to extend its services into global shipping and other logistics facets. He remains unfazed by competition from other AI-driven logistics technologies and established players like FedEx and UPS, who are also investing in AI solutions. "We have tremendous adoption," Abbott stated confidently. "Augie is designed to think ahead and reason like a human, which significantly reduces time spent on tasks."