Austin last-mile delivery logistics startup Convey Inc. is being acquired by Chicago-based shipping visibility provider Project44 for $255 million, the companies said Sept. 21.
With the new deal, Project44 says it now offers global supply chain management with real-time visibility and insights from the raw materials stage of production to front door direct-to-consumer and e-commerce experiences.
Convey, founded in 2013, has raised about $25.7 million in venture funding. Its backers, many of them with Austin roots, have included Silverton Partners, Techstars Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, RPM Ventures, Corsa Ventures, Hurt Family Investments, Alder Growth Partners and Capital Factory.
Earlier this summer, Convey announced it was relocating to a 14,398-square-foot office at Lamar Central at 3800 N. Lamar Blvd. with department areas set up as "neighborhoods" and desk booking software to coordinate pandemic-related precautions.
The startup's CEO, Rob Taylor, is a mentor at Techstars and Capital Factory, and he previously led Austin's BlackLocus through its acquisition in 2012 by Home Depot. Fellow co-founders Carson Krieg, Dan Bebout and Jenny Bebout launched Convey, then known as Pivot Freight, in Phoenix, and moved it to Austin to participate in the Techstars Austin accelerator where it connected with Taylor. The company permanently relocated to Austin after that.
Convey's $255 million price tag puts it up there with some of the biggest recent acquisitions for venture-backed tech startups in the Austin area. While many deals don't come with financial details, here are a few of the largest tech buyouts we have figures for: fintech startup Dosh was acquired by Cardlytics Inc. in March for $275 million in cash and stock; Data Foundry Inc. in May said it was being acquired by Switch Inc. for $420 million in cash; and e-procurement company Periscope Holdings Inc. was scooped up by MDF Commerce Inc. for around $259.9 million in August.
The deal also adds yet another proof point that Austin has become a powerful hub for shipping and logistics companies. Other companies in the sector raising money include Shipwell, which Forbes last year said is likely to achieve a billion-dollar valuation; Arrive Logistics, which landed $300 million in private equity earlier this year; Fetch, which raised $50 million in July; and Overhaul, which raised $35 million over the summer.
Taylor wasn't available for an interview Tuesday. But in a LinkedIn post he reflected on the deal and credited his team and Project44 for the success.
"What an incredible journey and now opportunity to combine two category leaders and do something truly transformational," he wrote.
Project44 provides software to shippers and third-party logistics firms to help them track their shipments and communicate with the supply chain in real time. With its technology, companies can bring an "Amazon-like" shipping experience to their customers by improving logistics efficiencies and reducing costs.
Earlier this year, Project44 raised $202 million in a Goldman Sachs-led funding round at a $1.2 billion valuation. That brought the company's total funding to $442.5 million. The Convey acquisition was Project44's third so far this year. The others were Ocean Insights and ClearMetal, which were acquired for undisclosed amounts.
With its acquisition of Convey, Project44 says it now works with 880 global shippers and third-party logistics providers and has a network of 113,000 carriers.
“The stakes are high for companies to not only fulfill and ship orders but to make the right promises about availability and delivery. However, volatile conditions, overwhelming complexity and blind spots in the supply chain make this difficult to achieve,” Project44 founder and CEO Jett McCandless said in a statement. “We’ve solved this with the acquisition of Convey, making Project44 the unequivocal choice for any company that wants to leverage supply chain and logistics as a competitive advantage and driver of brand loyalty.”
