Convoy

Convoy was a Seattle-based digital freight brokerage founded in 2015 by former Amazon managers Dan Lewis and Grant Goodale.³⁴⁸¹⁵ The company raised over $1 billion from investors including Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Baillie Gifford, reaching a $3.8 billion valuation in April 2022.³⁸¹²¹³ Convoy shut down its core business operations in October 2023 after failing to find a buyer or secure additional funding amid a freight recession and capital markets contraction.¹³⁴

Timeline

Money raised

Convoy raised a $2.5 million seed round in October 2015.¹³ Convoy raised a $16 million Series A round in March 2016 led by Greylock.¹³ Convoy raised a $62 million Series B round in July 2017 with participation from Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Marc Benioff, and Greylock.¹³¹⁵ Convoy raised a $185 million Series C round in September 2018 led by CapitalG at a $1.08 billion valuation.¹³¹⁴ Convoy raised a $400 million Series D round in November 2019 led by Generation Investment Management and T. Rowe Price.⁹¹³ Convoy raised a $160 million Series E preferred equity round in April 2022 led by Baillie Gifford and T. Rowe Price, along with a $100 million venture-debt investment from Hercules Capital, bringing its valuation to $3.8 billion.¹²¹³ Convoy secured a $150 million credit line from J.P. Morgan in April 2022.¹² Convoy raised over $1 billion in total funding from investors, according to PitchBook.³⁷⁸¹³

Investors named in the sources: Jeff Bezos³⁴¹⁵, Bill Gates³⁴¹⁵, Baillie Gifford⁸¹²¹³, T. Rowe Price⁸¹²¹³, CapitalG³⁸¹³, Generation Investment Management³⁸¹³, Greylock Partners⁸¹³¹⁵, Y Combinator⁸¹³, Marc Benioff³¹⁵, Reid Hoffman³, Allen & Company³, Hercules Capital¹², J.P. Morgan¹²¹³, Park West Asset Management⁸¹³, Durable Capital Partners⁸, Fidelity Management & Research⁸, Lone Pine Capital⁸, Mosaic Ventures⁸, Red Sea Ventures⁸, Andra Capital⁸, G Squared⁸, Global Tech Ventures⁸, Omidyar Ventures⁸, Cascade Investment Fund⁸, Bezos Expeditions⁸, William Gates⁸, Jeffrey Bezos⁸, Advisors.Fund⁸, Triplepoint Venture Growth⁸.

What happened

Convoy was founded in 2015 by former Amazon managers Dan Lewis and Grant Goodale.³⁴⁸¹⁵ The company developed a digital freight network that matched shippers with carriers using machine learning and automation.⁴⁸¹⁰ Convoy's platform allowed shippers to list freight and carriers to bid on loads through a mobile app.¹⁰ By 2016, Convoy signed a four-year freight deal with Unilever, which helped it attract early investors.¹⁵ Convoy raised significant funding from high-profile investors including Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Marc Benioff, and Greylock.³⁴¹⁵

The company expanded its network to over 400,000 trucks and counted major enterprises such as Home Depot, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Anheuser-Busch among its customers.¹⁰¹² Convoy's revenue peaked at $750 million in 2021, growing 50% annually.¹⁰ In April 2022, Convoy raised $260 million at a $3.8 billion valuation, with a $160 million Series E led by Baillie Gifford and a $100 million venture-debt investment from Hercules Capital.⁴¹² Convoy also secured a $150 million credit line from J.P. Morgan in April 2022.¹² After the funding round, Convoy began trimming headcount in June 2022, followed by another layoff in October 2022.⁴

In February 2023, Convoy cut staff and closed its Atlanta office, which had opened in 2019.⁴ In June 2023, Convoy had another round of layoffs and co-founder Grant Goodale stepped down as chief experience officer.⁴ Convoy's revenue declined to $320 million in 2023, a 57% decrease from its 2021 peak.¹⁰ The freight recession and contraction in capital markets made it difficult for Convoy to secure additional funding or find a buyer.¹³⁴¹⁰ Convoy spent over four months exploring strategic options, including a potential sale, but none materialized.³⁴

On October 19, 2023, Convoy announced it was closing its core business operations and laying off most of its remaining 500 employees.¹³⁴ CEO Dan Lewis cited a 'massive freight recession and a contraction in the capital markets' as the reasons for the shutdown.³⁴ Laid-off employees reportedly did not receive severance or healthcare.⁴⁶ After the shutdown, Flexport acquired Convoy's technology assets on November 1, 2023.⁸¹⁰ In July 2025, DAT Freight & Analytics acquired the Convoy Platform from Flexport for approximately $250 million.¹⁰

The sale represented a 93% discount from Convoy's peak valuation.¹⁰ Nearly 30,000 carriers, primarily owner-operators and small fleets, use the Convoy Platform app after the acquisition.¹⁰ DAT has integrated the Convoy Platform with TMS providers including Port TMS and McLeod Software's PowerBroker.¹⁰ The Convoy Platform has expanded a reloads feature that shows carriers available follow-on freight near a delivery point.¹⁰ DAT is testing a pathway for select Convoy-posted loads to surface in DAT One, its flagship load board.¹⁰

A class action lawsuit was filed against Convoy by carriers seeking $2.6 million in unpaid loads.¹⁶ Ikea sued Convoy in an interpleader case after the shutdown left the furniture giant unsure of who to pay.¹⁶

Legal outcomes

• filedA class action lawsuit was filed against Convoy by carriers seeking $2.6 million in unpaid loads.¹⁶
• filedIkea sued Convoy in an interpleader case after the shutdown left the furniture giant unsure of who to pay.¹⁶

Where the founders are now

Dan Lewis was the co-founder and CEO of Convoy.³⁴⁸ Grant Goodale was the co-founder and chief experience officer of Convoy, and he stepped down in June 2023.⁴

Sources

1. Bezos-backed freight firm Convoy shuts down after slashing hundreds of jobs. Read the CEO's memo to employees, CNBC, Oct 19, 20
3. Convoy, a Bezos-backed trucking tech company valued at $3.8 billion last year, is shutting down | Fortune, Fortune, Oct 19, 20
4. Convoy collapse: Read CEO’s memo detailing sudden shutdown of Seattle trucking startup, GeekWire, 2023-10-19
6. (Ex-)Convoy engineer here. No mystery as to why this happened, sudden tight mark... | Hacker News, news.ycombinator.com
7. Test Your Idea in 120s — Free AI Startup Validator | IdeaProof, IdeaProof.io, Nov 30, 20
8. Convoy IPO Timeline and Financing Details - Forge, forgeglobal.com
9. Convoy, trucking start-up founded by former Amazon execs, gets $400 million from investors including Al Gore, CNBC, Nov 13, 20
10. Convoy revenue, valuation & funding, sacra.com
12. Convoy Secures $260M at $3.8B Valuation for New Freight Tech Solutions | Built In Seattle, Built In, Apr 21, 20
13. How Much Did Convoy Raise? Funding & Key Investors | Clay, clay.com
14. Convoy raising capital at a multi-billion valuation, FreightWaves, 2019-09-05
15. Why Freight Brokerage Startup Convoy Ran Out of Road | Transacted, Transacted, 2023-10-25
16. Convoy case back in court as carriers seek $2.6M in unpaid ..., overdriveonline.com, Jan 31, 20

How this case file was put together

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