Dubai: Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. and ADQ have taken a seat in the latest funding round from TruKKer, the Saudi digital freight operator. The latter has completed a Series B round and raised $96 million through a mix of debt and equity.
ADQ holds some of Abu Dhabi’s biggest assets such as AD Ports Group and Kizad in its portfolio.
The Series B equity funding round was led by ADQ and Riyadh-based venture capital fund STV along with the participation from Mubadala. Existing investors Riyad Taqnia Fund and Shorooq Partners and others also participated.
The business has raised a $50 million venture debt from Mars Growth, a Liquidity Group and MUFG joint venture fund, and San Francisco-based Partners for Growth (PFG) backed by the Silicon Valley Bank.
“Mubadala has been investing in the logitech space across the globe and we see significant opportunities in digitizing a large industry," said Mattia Fugazza, Head of MENA Ventures at Mubadala. " We are excited about TruKKer’s vision and what Gaurav and the management team are building: Mubadala’s experience and network in diverse industries will support TruKKer in growing and executing on its ambitions.”
A 40,000 truck fleet
The deal follows a $23 million equity raise by TruKKer in 2019, which was one of the largest Series A funding rounds in the region at the time. Since inception in 2018, TruKKer has brought together a fleet of 40,000 plus trucks and 700 business customers in eight countries.
"TruKKer's growth has been exponential, both in our home markets of Saudi Arabia and UAE, and in new markets across North Africa and Central Asia,” said Gaurav Biswas, founder and CEO, TruKKer. “We are constantly improvising on our launch playbook that allows us to rapidly launch new markets followed by scaling our offering in them.
“At the same time, the core market teams are becoming more data and analytics driven in business processes to ensure improving user experience, setting standards, and leading the sector’s direction.”
