Harish Abbott, the founder of Deliverr, an e-commerce shipping startup acquired by Shopify for $2.1 billion, has deep expertise in the logistics sector. As co-founder and CEO in 2022, Abbott developed a strong understanding of the industry's inner workings.
Abbott believes that many manual logistics tasks can be automated using artificial intelligence. This insight led him to launch Augment last year, a startup that introduced "Augie," an AI assistant designed to handle repetitive and time-consuming tasks currently performed by freight companies, carriers, and brokers.
On Thursday, Augment announced a substantial $85 million Series A funding round led by Redpoint, with participation from 8VC, Autotech Ventures, and others. This significant investment comes just five months after the startup emerged from stealth with a $25 million seed round.
"Freight and logistics represent a massive industry where workers spend entire days managing emails, documents, phone calls, and text messages," Abbott told TechCrunch. "Augie can handle all of these tasks like a personal assistant, freeing employees to focus on relationships and negotiations."
At present, Augie can perform seven key functions within the logistics workflow, including gathering and verifying trucking company quotes, tracking in-transit shipments, load building (a method that combines multiple shipments to maximize truck space), and collecting invoice documentation to ensure timely payments.
These processes typically involve extensive communication between various logistics stakeholders via phone, email, or text message. Augie streamlines these interactions by operating across multiple platforms, including voice, email, Slack, SMS, and Telegram.
While Augment does not disclose its financials, Abbott notes that the number of clients using their services has doubled since the seed funding round. Although many clients are still in trial phases, companies like Armstrong Transport Group have fully implemented the solution, achieving notable productivity gains, including a 40% reduction in invoice processing delays.
Jacob Effron, a managing director at Redpoint, decided to invest in Augment after speaking with multiple clients. "The customer feedback has been outstanding. People really love the product. I believe they're using it across a broad range of applications."
The substantial funding will support hiring 50 engineers and developing additional features. "This is a large and fragmented market. It's complex and messy. The systems are outdated and siloed," Abbott explained. "We need many engineers because these companies use numerous software systems."
Currently focused on the trucking industry, the company has long-term ambitions to expand into international shipping and other logistics domains.
Abbott isn't alone in pursuing AI solutions for logistics. Competitors like Vooma and FleetWorks also offer freight management AI assistance, while major shipping companies FedEx and UPS have announced investments in proprietary AI technologies.
However, competition doesn't concern Abbott. "Our adoption rate is extremely high," he said. "Augie delivers exceptional functionality. Augie genuinely thinks ahead and reasons and acts like a human, saving everyone considerable time."
