Sweden’s Einride Raises $110M For Autonomous And Electric Freight 

Electric and autonomous freight tech company Einride has raised $110 million in a Series B round, the company announced Thursday.

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The Stockholm, Sweden-based company, which was founded in 2016, makes autonomous and electric freight trucks for the transportation of goods, as well as provides a freight mobility platform. 

The company decided to focus on freight transportation for a few reasons. Freight lends itself well to autonomous transportation because it’s predictable, repetitive and generally happens outside of cities, CEO Robert Falck said in an interview. For the founding team, it was obvious that the transition to autonomous would happen first for freight transportation, Falck said.

“I think the most important part of that is there is a very clear business case for freight compared to taxi services, robotic taxis, things like that,” Falck said.

Freight transportation also contributes to global CO2 emissions, which makes it a prime candidate for electrification.

“We think electrification will be the big theme for the next 10 years or so,” Northzone General Partner Jessica Schultz said in an interview. “It’s more sustainable and cheaper.”

Electrification — and autonomous vehicles — are both big themes in the world of transportation, though much of the attention is given to passenger vehicles. But the company’s stance is that the freight transport industry could benefit more immediately from the trends.

“When it comes to freight, most contracts are for three to five years and it’s repetitive and predictable,” Falck said.

The new funding will be used to  invest in the company’s technology, continue delivering to customers, grow revenue and expand internationally. Einride counts companies like Coca-Cola, Oatly and Electrolux among its customers. 

Last year, the company doubled its team and plans to grow its revenue tenfold in the next year or so. 

New investors Temasek, Soros Fund Management LLC, Northzone, Build Capital and Maersk Growth all participated in the round, as did existing investors EQT Ventures, Plum Alley, Norrsken VC, Ericsson, and NordicNinja VC.

The new round brings Einride’s total funding to $150 million. The company last raised money in October 2020, per Crunchbase data.

Illustration: Dom Guzman