Maersk invests in Australian tech startup

Danish container shipping major A.P. Moller – Maersk has unveiled its investment in Australian tech startup Ofload, formerly called Loadsmile.

Maersk, through its venture arm Maersk Growth, has jointly with Germany’s Global Founders Capital (GFC) provided AU$2.8 million in seed funding to Ofload.

They have joined Ofload’s pre-seed investor Flash Ventures at the company’s capitalisation table.

Sydney-based Ofload was founded in February this year by former HelloFresh head of operations, Geoffroy Henry. It connects small and medium-size carriers with shippers, enabling shipments to be delivered more quickly and affordably by taking up what would have been empty space in delivery vehicles.

“All supply chain stakeholders will benefit from Ofload’s technology, not least shippers looking to reduce their carbon footprint, as empty truck moves will be optimised,” Jeppe Hoier, Venture Partner at Maersk Growth, commented.

According to Ofload, the strategic support from Maersk, and the fresh capital will help further fuel the company’s journey towards eliminating waste from the road freight industry.

“As part of this opportunity our business has re-branded to Ofload to better reflect our mission as a company: to offload the trucking industry of waste and increase transparency,” Ofload explained.