Just five months after closing our Series A, we are adding more firepower to our rocketship. We are grateful and humbled to announce that we have closed a $42 M Series B, led by Bessemer Venture Partners with strong participation from our current shareholders Index Ventures, Creandum, Point Nine and Next47.
Welcome on board Bob, Mike and Dhruv, and welcome Bessemer Venture Partners!
What a year it has been for all of us! 2020 turned the world upside down – it confronted us with unprecedented challenges, it changed the way we operate as a society and it changed our perspective on many things.
The cargo.one team has worked tirelessly to support our partners and users throughout the last 10 months, it has pushed forward at an unimaginable speed and it has adapted to a new normal.
What started as necessary precautions for our team’s health and well-being, grew into a vision to build a decentralized and virtual global company. In early March we decided to take cargo.one online – into a fully virtual-first setting – with no physical office space. Since then, we have opened our doors to hire teammates in 13 countries, situated in six time zones plus and minus of Berlin. Shortly, we will be adding eight additional countries to hire our teammates in. As a result, like never before, are we able to tap into an enormous talent pool, that goes way beyond our hometown of Berlin or Germany, to assemble a stellar team.
Throughout the first quarter of this year we saw bookings on cargo.one skyrocket, leading to the decision to substantially invest into growth. In July, we announced a US$ 18.6 M financing round led by Index Ventures to support our ambition to become the premier digital distribution channel for leading cargo airlines. Shortly after, in November, we reached the staggering number of 2,000 freight forwarding offices using the cargo.one platform across Europe to book air cargo – just 26 months after launch. In December, we achieved yet another milestone, processing more than 110,000 shipments leaving Europe annually while growing seven hundred percent year-on-year.
2020 has been a challenging and humbling rollercoaster ride.
I want to take this opportunity to thank our partner airlines for their continued trust and partnership. All those airlines that are currently in signing or integration, for choosing us to be your partner in these challenging times. The more than 2,000 freight forwarding offices across Europe and the many more users that use cargo.one every day. And most of all, I want to thank our team – the Cargonauts. They have shown more resilience, willpower, ambition and accountability than we could have ever wished for.
2021 will undoubtedly be a challenging year for our industry and the entire world. Like never before will we have to come together and work hand in hand. But I am confident that we will jointly overcome the challenges ahead.
Happy holidays and a successful and healthy new year 2021.
Moritz & the entire cargo.one team
