P2P package delivery startup, Roadie, announced it has secured $37m in series C funding, led by The Home Depot.
The new funds bring its total capital raised to $62m, as the company plans to fuel its enterprise expansion over the next few years.
Hittin’ the road with some guy named Jerry’s package
Launched in 2015, Roadie planned to recruit a speck of the estimated 250m vehicles on the road to deliver goods en route to their destinations, according to VentureBeat.
Now, with more than 120k drivers, Roadie is one of the leading independent contractees in the space, helping retailers compete with the 2-day shipping promise of Amazon.
Here’s how it works: Shippers post through Roadie’s app with details like the size of the item and its destination. Roadie uses predictive analytics to find a driver with the right-sized vehicle headed in that direction — the driver then gets a flat-rate quote upfront.
Is this necessary?
Right now, a good chunk of America’s 57m gig-economy workers deliver for services like TaskRabbit, Postmates, or Amazon Flex. But, as shopping shifts further online, management consulting firm McKinsey predicts total annual deliveries in the US will more than double within 10 years.
In roughly 5 years since its launch, Roadie has teamed with brands like Delta, Walmart, The Home Depot, Kroger, Macy’s, and United to fulfill deliveries to over 224 metropolitan areas around the country.