A Chicago logistics startup made the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Companies to Watch 2018, an annual list that spotlights 25 “emerging leaders in hot corners of the tech industry.”
FourKites, the local tech company that makes a technology to help trucking companies predict shipping times, came in at No. 17 on the list. Founded in 2014 by CEO Matt Elenjickal, FourKites raised $35 million in February, bringing its total funding to more than $50 million.
Its investors include Hyde Park Angels, Hyde Park Venture Partners, August Capital Master Management Co., Bain Capital Ventures and Harvard Business School Angels.
According to the WSJ, FourKites employs about 230 people and their customers range from KraftHeinz and Walmart to Pfizer and Staples.
Their software helps companies predict when shipments will arrive at scheduled stops. It can also monitor load temperatures and analyze a company’s supply chain data in ways that help improve on-time delivery and minimize product loss.
FourKites first got its footing in Chicago after graduating from the Pritzker Group Venture Fellows program in 2013, which provides funding and resources to student entrepreneurs at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Elenjickal is a 2014 Kellogg graduate.
FourKites isn't the only logistics startup in Chicago gaining momentum. Others like Project44 and Shipbob are also raising significant amounts of venture capital and helping to transform the way businesses operate.
Shipbob has raised more than $22 million in funding, and just in April, Project44 raised $35 million from investors, such as OpenView, 8VC, Chicago Ventures and Pritzker Group Venture Capital, bringing its total amount raised to $48 million.
