Latest news with #Convoy
TechCrunch
11 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Flexport sells former freight unicorn Convoy's tech two years after buying it
Two years ago, logistics company Flexport bought the assets of Convoy, a former freight tech unicorn that had closed up shop. Now it's sold that platform and delivered a 'massive return on investment for Flexport.' Flexport announced the sale on Monday to DAT Freight & Analytics, but declined to disclose terms. 'Over the past 18 months, we rebuilt and relaunched the [Convoy] platform as a neutral digital freight execution layer that serves brokers, carriers, and shippers across the market,' Flexport Ryan Petersen said in a statement. 'That investment paid off. The platform is now stronger, more widely used, and far more valuable than when we acquired it. As the Convoy Platform matured, it was clear that to achieve its full potential, it needed to be a neutral infrastructure layer.' Petersen wrote that the sale of Convoy's tech will allow his company to 'focus our capital and energy on our core business' of helping customers move freight around the world. The sale comes just a few months after Flexport announced the rollout of a suite of AI-powered tools, and a plan to launch waves of new products for its customers twice a year — an approach inspired by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Flexport told TechCrunch at the time that the second product release will come in 'late summer.'
Geek Wire
14 hours ago
- Business
- Geek Wire
Flexport is selling Convoy's technology to freight giant DAT
GeekWire's startup coverage documents the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial scene. Sign up for our weekly startup newsletter , and check out the GeekWire funding tracker and venture capital directory . (GeekWire File Photo / Taylor Soper) Convoy's long, winding journey is getting another chapter. San Francisco-based freight forwarding company Flexport announced Monday that it is selling its Convoy Platform to DAT Freight & Analytics. The deal comes two years after Flexport acquired Convoy's technology amid the Seattle startup's shutdown. Convoy was once one of Seattle's most valuable startups, hitting a valuation of $3.8 billion in 2022 as investors bet big on the digital brokerage that connected shippers and carriers. But the company collapsed later that year, citing a freight recession and dampened investor appetite. Flexport acquired and later relaunched Convoy's marketplace, which will now be operated by Beaverton, Ore.-based DAT, a business unit of publicly traded industrial conglomerate Roper Technologies that operates the largest truckload freight marketplace in North America. 'The acquisition of Convoy demonstrates DAT's ongoing commitment to enhancing network value for our customers,' DAT CEO Jeff Clementz said in a statement. 'Together, we will give customers a better, broader freight-matching network, the ability to manage more loads and capture incrementally more business, and ultimately more choice.' Freightwaves reported that Flexport's deal with DAT was valued 'near $250 million.' DAT earlier this year acquired Outgo, a Seattle startup that sells banking services to freight carriers. Convoy co-founder and former CEO Dan Lewis joined Flexport in a technical advisor role but left in 2024 and is now a corporate VP at Microsoft. Convoy co-founder Grant Goodale this year joined Florida-based logistics giant Ryder as chief product and technology officer.
Business Wire
15 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
DAT to Acquire the Convoy Platform from Flexport
BEAVERTON, Ore. & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DAT Freight & Analytics has agreed to acquire the Convoy Platform from Flexport, adding best-in-class automation and digital freight-matching technology to its product portfolio. 'The acquisition of Convoy demonstrates DAT's ongoing commitment to enhancing network value for our customers,' said Jeff Clementz, DAT President and CEO. Share The Convoy Platform provides freight brokers a powerful way to automate virtually every aspect of the freight transaction and connect with trusted trucking companies. It is an ideal complement to DAT One, DAT's flagship subscription-based load board, where nearly 700,000 loads are posted daily. 'The acquisition of Convoy demonstrates DAT's ongoing commitment to enhancing network value for our customers,' said Jeff Clementz, DAT President and CEO. 'Together, we will give customers a better, broader freight-matching network, the ability to manage more loads and capture incrementally more business, and ultimately more choice.' 'We invested in the Convoy Platform because we saw its potential. In just 18 months, we improved the core technology platform, reengaged the market, and significantly increased its value. Importantly, we demonstrated a strong product-market fit by decoupling the platform from a brokerage,' said Ryan Petersen, Founder and CEO of Flexport. 'We look forward to a lasting relationship as a DAT customer. This sale is a win for the entire freight industry, a win for DAT, and a win for Flexport.' Flexport acquired the Convoy Platform and related intellectual property in October 2023 and launched the Convoy Platform as a freight-matching service for all brokers in April 2024, growing the platform with thousands of carriers. Flexport's vision and investment in building and scaling the Convoy Platform for the broader market, as a neutral digital marketplace, creates significant value for DAT and its customers. Furthermore, this acquisition will enhance DAT's innovative team and technology by adding: Deep experience: The Convoy Platform's engineers, product experts, and operations professionals will continue to be led by Bill Driegert, who will join DAT's executive leadership team. The Convoy Platform's engineers, product experts, and operations professionals will continue to be led by Bill Driegert, who will join DAT's executive leadership team. Fraud prevention at scale: The Convoy Platform's proprietary technology uses machine learning and AI models to verify carriers on the network and block malicious actors. With these advanced security features built in, brokers can reduce their risk of fraud and access a trusted network of carrier capacity, all while increasing their efficiency and growing their business. The Convoy Platform's proprietary technology uses machine learning and AI models to verify carriers on the network and block malicious actors. With these advanced security features built in, brokers can reduce their risk of fraud and access a trusted network of carrier capacity, all while increasing their efficiency and growing their business. Easy-to-use mobile experience: The Convoy Platform is recognized for high carrier satisfaction and usability. Today, nearly 30,000 carriers—primarily owner-operators and small trucking companies—use the app to find loads, manage paperwork, receive payments, and more. The Convoy Platform is recognized for high carrier satisfaction and usability. Today, nearly 30,000 carriers—primarily owner-operators and small trucking companies—use the app to find loads, manage paperwork, receive payments, and more. Fast, reliable payments: Every carrier on the Convoy Platform is eligible to get paid via QuickPay. It's easy to use and available on every load on the platform, providing another option for fast payouts to carriers. DAT will ultimately integrate the Convoy Platform into its DAT One product. This will allow brokers to seamlessly access both automated and hands-on freight-matching options, and give carriers a faster, easier way to find quality loads from trusted brokers, supported by DAT's scale and reach. For more information about the Convoy Platform, visit About DAT Freight & Analytics DAT Freight & Analytics operates DAT One, North America's largest truckload freight marketplace; DAT iQ, the industry's leading freight data analytics service; Trucker Tools, the leader in load visibility; and Outgo, the freight financial services platform. Shippers, transportation brokers, carriers, news organizations, and industry analysts rely on DAT for market trends and data insights, informed by nearly 700,000 daily load posts and a database exceeding $1 trillion in freight market transactions. Founded in 1978, DAT is a business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), a constituent of the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Fortune 1000. Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, DAT continues to set the standard for innovation in the trucking and logistics industry. Visit for more information. About Roper Technologies Roper Technologies is a constituent of the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Fortune 1000. Roper has a proven, long-term track record of compounding cash flow and shareholder value. The Company operates market leading businesses that design and develop vertical software and technology enabled products for a variety of defensible niche markets. Roper utilizes a disciplined, analytical, and process-driven approach to redeploy its excess capital toward high-quality acquisitions. Additional information about Roper is available on the Company's website at About Flexport We believe trade can move the human race forward. That's why since our founding in 2013, it's our mission to make global commerce so easy there is more of it. Flexport is the tech-driven platform for global logistics—empowering buyers, sellers and their logistics partners with the technology and services to grow and innovate. Flexport was one of CNBC's Disruptor 50 Companies as well as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies. Trusted by more than 10,000 brands, Flexport connects every step of the supply chain from factory floor to customer door—making it easy for businesses to ship anywhere, sell everywhere, and grow faster.
National Observer
4 days ago
- Politics
- National Observer
Convoy sentencing part of a fraught judicial history around protest
Tamara Lich emerged from the Ontario Court of Justice in downtown Ottawa on Thursday afternoon, walking past throngs of journalists, right wing media personalities and dedicated supporters brandishing signs. The two-day sentencing hearing for Lich and Chris Barber — two of the 'Freedom Convoy's' main organizers — saw their supporters from the Ottawa Valley and even as far as Alberta gather both outside and inside the courthouse to sing the praises of these controversial figures. Inside the courtroom, with roughly 60 observers and journalists on day one, the mood was mellow and restrained, save for a smattering of snickers when the Crown attorney said this case is not about political views. The spectacle provided an opportunity for Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party of Canada to reaffirm their loyalty to the far-right segment of their base. 'The Crown wants 7 years prison time for the charge of mischief for Lich & Barber,' Poilievre posted on X, two days before the sentencing hearing began. 'How is this justice?' 'This is political vengeance, not actual justice,' wrote deputy Conservative Leader Melissa Lantsman. As Lich and Barber await their sentences, expected to be announced on Oct. 7, these statements and many more like them continue to ricochet through the conservative media ecosystem. Ezra Levant, founder of Rebel News, showed up at the Ottawa court to cover the two-day hearing; so did right-wing influencers like Right Blend and Dacey Media. Those who couldn't make it in person posted from afar. 'Canada is turning into a banana republic,' the Pleb Reporter posted from Montreal. 'The left are cheering for dictator style punishments for light dissent. A protest where no violence occurred. Please wake up Canada.' Canada's National Observer obtained an internal report by the CSIS spy agency on 'Climate Change and Terrorism.' The majority of the document — some 90 per cent of the text — focuses on threats posed by environmentalists. Transport Canada has estimated that the Convoy movement cost Canadians $3.9 billion in lost trade due to the convoy-affiliated border blockades that spread across the country in February 2022. The protests cost the city of Ottawa over $36 million, mostly on policing. That figure doesn't include the cost to businesses forced to close for weeks, or the harm done to some 12,000 residents of Ottawa's Centretown whose homes were bombarded by the noise of semi-trucks honking their horns in synchronized 10-minute blasts, loud and long enough to cause permanent hearing damage. 'It's really hard to describe how fucked up those horns were,' Paul Champ, the lawyer who filed the injunction that ultimately forced an end to the honking — but not the occupation — told Canada's National Observer. 'They had a schedule. Four hundred semi-trucks pulling down all together. It was dystopian.' Champ was initially reluctant to get involved. 'I believe really deeply in protest, and it doesn't matter what issue you're protesting. You should have the right to be out there. There's lots of reasonable reasons to disagree with certain COVID measures and given how significant the impact was on people's life, people should protest,' he said. He also felt protest leaders shouldn't be held responsible for the actions of a few bad actors, like those who defecated on residents' lawns or sent fireworks bouncing off apartment walls. But the damage done by the horns, along with the serial harassment of businesses and residents alike for wearing masks (at a time when mask-wearing was mandated for public indoor spaces to prevent COVID's spread), changed his mind. 'It's important to distinguish between the issues that the people were protesting and the manner in which they were protesting,' Champ said. 'They were honking those horns because they were trying to make living downtown extremely difficult. And they were doing that to put pressure on the government … they were kind of holding the people of downtown Ottawa hostage.' For the Conservative Party to become the movement's champion without acknowledging any of those harms spoke volumes, Champ added. Poilievre famously brought donuts to members of the Convoy during the blockades, and described them as 'bright, joyful, and peaceful Canadians championing freedom over fear.' 'Poilievre never spoke out about how miserable it was for the people who have young kids, for the elderly, people with disabilities, the shelters that are downtown, all the business people — he just didn't give a crap because he's exploiting it for political gain.' That strategy created an enormous new base for Poilievre in 2022, almost overnight. 'Pierre took a principled stance which hurt him politically when it mattered the most. This is how he earned my loyalty,' the Pleb Reporter posted on Monday. Courting the Convoy vote brought Poilievre within a hair of becoming prime minister, but ultimately backfired spectacularly. It cost him not only the election but also the parliamentary seat (Carleton, which abuts downtown Ottawa) he had held for 21 years. Judging by their engagement with this week's sentencing of Lich and Barber, however, Poilievre and the Conservatives still view their Convoy following as crucial to the party's future. In return, right-wing influencers such as The Pleb Reporter, Right Blend and others were quick to thank Poilievre for speaking up about the sentencing this week, marking the first time many of them have mentioned the Conservative leader since he lost the election. If any doubts remained about whether the two groups still feel they need each other, this week should put them to rest. Who does the state fear more? This chapter of the Freedom Convoy's legal travails also revives deeper questions about which protest groups are seen as threats by Canadian authorities, and which are not. Canada's National Observer obtained an internal report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) spy agency entitled ' Climate Change and Terrorism: From Threat Multiplication to Radicalization.' The report was produced in July 2024, two years after the Freedom Convoy. It includes a brief mention of 'the Freedom Movement' under a one-paragraph sidebar labeled 'Climate denialists and the Culture Wars.' Here, the report briefly acknowledges that climate denial is merging with other conspiracy theories to 'drive acts of serious violence or terrorism.' Among the hybrids identified are 'conspiracy theories about government attempts to restrict individual freedoms (e.g. 'climate lockdown').' But the majority of the document — some 90 per cent of the text — focuses on threats posed by environmentalists. 'In Canada, a significant increase in the frequency or severity of extreme weather is likely to drive radicalization to violence and increase the threat from environmentally focused terrorists in the medium to long term,' the report states. It further predicts the 'increased use of extreme weather events in propaganda by violent extremists to radicalize and recruit new supporters, notably by assigning blame for climate-driven disasters on specific groups (migrants, politicians, industries, etc.).' Headings that follow include 'Eco-terrorism,' 'Violent fringes of the environmental movement,' and 'Eco-Fascists.' CSIS did not reply to queries about this report from Canada's National Observer. Asked whether the organization views eco-radicals as a greater threat to national security than right-wing groups like the Freedom Convoy, a spokesperson wrote by email: 'CSIS's 2024 Public report — available online — provides a detailed overview of how CSIS views the current global threat environment.' That report, however, only mentions 'climate change' once in passing, without naming any specific related threats. It says nothing about eco-terrorism, climate denialism or the Freedom Convoy. James Turk, director for the Centre for Free Expression, reviewed the document. The CSIS Integrated Threat Assessment Centre is a specialized organization whose job is to look at the rise in terrorism and other threats, so it makes sense the report doesn't dwell on the 'culture wars' and climate denial, he said in an interview with Canada's National Observer. But viewing the environmental movement through the lens of terrorism creates an environment where the discussion shifts from how to limit radicalization rather than how to limit the damages of climate change, he said. 'Let's prevent the problem rather than figure out how we're going to police the outcome if we don't remedy the problem,' Turk said. Who's scarier, eco-terrorists or right-wing radicals? It's common for protesters from all ideological backgrounds to feel unjustly persecuted by police. But for all the complaints from Conservatives and Freedom Convoy members over their rough treatment at the end of their blockade, the Convoy's start was marked by an unusual level of police cooperation. 'The big question was why the police did not enforce any laws for that particular group,' said Joao Velloso, a professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa. When truckers started pulling into downtown Ottawa, he noted, police didn't even hand out tickets for illegal parking. 'It's quite scary that police can decide to not enforce any laws. That's quite dangerous for democracy.' Images of police officers shaking hands and taking selfies with protesters emerged not just from Ottawa, but also from other convoy blockades throughout the country, like the one in Coutts, Alberta, where some of the protesters were later found to have been stockpiling assault weapons. Each of these groups was blocking critical infrastructure, collectively inflicting billions of dollars of damage on the national economy. This paints a stark contrast to the treatment given to environmental and Indigenous protesters who target infrastructure. During the Fairy Creek protests against old growth logging on Vancouver Island in 2021, RCMP officers were filmed tearing the masks off protesters before spraying them point blank in the face with pepper spray — tactics a judge later declared illegal — for blocking a logging road. Two years before that, during the Wet'suwet'en protests against BC's Coastal GasLink pipeline, RCMP dispatched snipers ahead of a militarized arrest of Indigenous protesters and journalists, generating international headlines. It is hard to compare how various protest groups are treated because with all the different factions and protest methods it's rarely an apples to apples comparison. For example, the 'Freedom Convoy' protests were exceptional because the protesters utilized huge hard-to-remove trucks, which he says may have thrown a spanner in the police response in Ottawa. While Turk emphasized it's 'hard to generalize' which groups are perceived and treated as a bigger threat by the state, overall, 'people who see themselves as defenders of the environment have been treated more harshly than people who are promoting the exploitation of the environment,' Turk said. In Canada, property rights and trespass law 'are used to justify harsh treatment of many progressive protests' including ones that interfere with logging, pipelines and energy infrastructure or advocate for Palestinian solidarity, he said. Many environmental, climate and land defender movements go against the status quo — anchored by the political, economic, legal and corporate landscape in Canada — and are therefore likely to be perceived as a threat, Turk added, nodding to the immense power and influence of fossil fuel lobby groups both in Canada and the US. Powerful lobby groups influence the political agenda and seek to shape views on national threats, whether it pertains to war or climate change — and right now, it appears fossil fuel interests are shaping the narrative, Turk said. 'When we talk about who we're afraid of, we're afraid of the left,' said Meaghan Daniel, a Montreal lawyer who has defended activists and Indigenous protest movements across the country. Daniel has roots in activism herself, and was deeply involved in the left-wing G20 protests in Toronto in 2010, where 1,100 people were arrested in the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. The police chief in charge of that operation, Bill Blair, was later put in charge of CSIS and the RCMP as public safety minister. 'For a long time we've seen extensive surveillance and infiltration of far-left groups, but we didn't see that [with the Freedom Convoy],' Daniel said. ''We didn't even see the acknowledgement of far-right groups until about a decade after the G20.' That helps explain why authorities were caught 'flat-footed' by Convoy groups in 2022, when they seized critical infrastructure all across the nation with almost no effort to prevent them until it was too late. 'I think they were really surprised at the existence of far-right extremist organizing.' Even after all levels of government awoke to the scale of the threat, the way police finally ended the Convoy protests was far more peaceful than similar actions against major left-wing acts of civil disobedience. Almost no arrests were made, and in the end only three people were criminally charged. During the Wet'suwet'en protests, RCMP arrested 74 people in four separate raids. At Fairy Creek, the number of arrests once again surpassed 1,100 and many were prosecuted. 'If you look at all the mass incarceration events, they're almost entirely left-wing,' Daniel said. At the same time, Daniel agrees that the Crown's recommendation of 7 and 8 year jail terms for Lich and Barber, respectively, is far longer than typical for protest organizers. 'I don't want to see a huge, long jail sentence happening,' she said. 'Aggressive policing only ends up radicalizing people. Whenever forceful removal of a protester happens, usually that protester in turn doesn't become more compliant and trusting of the state. The opposite happens.'
Toronto Sun
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Toronto Sun
Letters to the Editor, July 24, 2025
INDY CLASSIC This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account As Toronto enjoyed another annual Honda Indy on a beautiful summer weekend, let's flash forward to 2034. That will inevitably be the last running of this fabulous motor event, I guess, because the following year all gasoline-powered cars will be outlawed?! Ron Lindemann Scarborough (Let's hope not) RAT THEM OUT We don't want the city rat situation to get worse, so we need to use every opportunity to get rid of them. First, whenever a house or building is scheduled for demolition, the city pest control should take this opportunity to eliminate the rat problem first. The distribution of rat killing food followed by the removal of the dead rodents will make it better for those dismantling the building and at the same time stop the exodus of rats to nearby structures. Preventing the spread makes more sense than dealing with the spread after the fact. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tim Devlin Toronto (That would require planning ahead — something the city is terrible at doing) PANDEMIC TRUTHS Re 'Crown seeks to make Convoy organizers political prisoners' (Brian Lilley, July 22): When will someone finally be held accountable for the invocation of the Emergencies Act, which our Federal Court has ruled was absolutely illegal? This outrageous sentencing request is just one more example of the contempt in which we are held by our controlling overlords and their minions. The truth is we're living in a country where democracy has become nothing more than an unattainable illusion! To believe otherwise is self-delusional. Wake up and pay attention, Canada! Bernie Carroll (There will be no accountability for the madness we endured during the pandemic) HALF MEASURE Britain wants to lower the voting age to 16 hoping to get a larger turnout at the polls. Why the half measure? While you're at it, take it down to 12 — that way you could set up polling booths right in the schools and the kids could skip math while they go down to the cafeteria to cast their little votes. Tim Conway Toronto (This is a terrible idea which we should not adopt here) Sports Golf Canada Columnists Columnists
