BlackBuck raises Rs 1,050 cr in funding round led by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, Accel

BlackBuck, an online marketplace for trucking, Wednesday said it has raised USD 150 million (about Rs 1,050 crore) in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners and Silicon Valley-based Accel.

Wellington, Sequoia Capital, B Capital and LightStreet were the other new investors who participated in the funding round, the company said in a statement.

The latest round, which takes the total quantum of funds raised by the company to over USD 230 million (about Rs 1,610 crore), also saw participation from existing investors Sands Capital and International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank, the statement added.

BlackBuck plans to deploy these funds to penetrate deeper into the national freight transportation market, investing heavily in technology, boosting product and data science capabilities.

"As part of this round, the employees at BlackBuck have access to liquidating 25 per cent of their total vested stocks at the current stock price of the company. This is the second time BlackBuck is executing a stock liquidation event for the employees of the company, the first one was in 2017," it said.

BlackBuck currently has over 3 lakh trucks and over 60,000 fleet owners on its platform.

"The company will deploy these funds to penetrate deeper into the market by on boarding new trucking partners along the existing as well as new transportation corridors. The company will invest heavily in product and data sciences capabilities to enable more efficient freight matching processes," the statement said.

Commenting on the development, Rajesh Yabaji, CEO and co-founder of BlackBuck said that with the latest round of financing, the company will invest to deepen its presence across the national market.

"Significant investments will be made into product development and data sciences, both these dimensions are core to BlackBuck's marketplace approach," Yabaji added.

The company leverages technology to match truckers with shippers in real-time, enabling better truck utilisation, shipper services levels and efficient pricing.

It also facilitates services around trucking by providing fleet cards, tyres, IoT (Internet of Things), insurance and working capital credit to truckers.