KeepTruckin Gets $190 Million To invest In AI & R&D

KeepTruckin a startup that specialises in developing hardware and software which helps trucking fleets manage vehicle, cargo and driver safety has raised $190 million in its series E round. This means the company founded by Shoaib Makani is now valued at $2 billion.

Backed by G2 venture partners which itself raised $500 million has invested in the round alongside GreenOaks Capital, Index Ventures, IVP and Scale Venture Partners and some funds managed by BlackRock.

The plan is to invest this new capital in AI-powered products like GPS tracking, ELD compliance and dispatch and workflow software. It is also hellbent on improving its smart dash cam which instantly detects unsafe driving behaviours like cell phone distraction and close following and alerts the drivers in real-time.

KeepTruckin counts Usher transport as one of its clients which claims it has been a 32 per cent reduction in accidents after implementing its smart dashcam, Drive risk score and safety hub.

The startup specialises in software and hardware that makes roads safe

"KeepTruckin's special sauce is that we can build complex models (that other edge cameras can't yet run) and make it run on the edge with low-power, low-memory and low-bandwidth constraints," Makani told TechCrunch.

"We have developed in-house IPs to solve this problem at different environmental conditions such as low-light, extreme weather, occluded subject and distortions," he added.

KeepTruckin even has smart annotation capabilities which can automatically label different data points that enables the neural network to play around with millions of potential situations achieving similar performance to the edge device that's in the field with real work environmental conditions.

Since the pandemic, the company has experienced 70 per cent growth largely due to expansion in new markets like construction, oil and gas, food and beverages, field services and storage and agriculture. It is expecting the demand to increase that's why it news to scale its AI and R&D teams to 700 people globally.

Eventually, most of its technology will power autonomous vehicles and make roads safer though it years away from achieving this milestone. That's why it is also focusing on trucking as the supply for drivers outpaces the demand.

"Level 4 and eventually level 5 autonomy will come to the trucking industry, but we are still many years away from broad deployment," he said.

"Our AI-powered dashcam is making drivers safer and helping prevent accidents today. While the promise of autonomy is real, we are working hard to help companies realize the value of this technology now," he added.