Travis Kalanick’s fund invests in Indonesian cargo startup

Uber founder and ex-CEO Travis Kalanick has invested in Indonesian logistics startup Kargo through his 10100 Fund, the young company said today. The startup focuses on connecting shippers to transporters.

Photo credit: Nico Giras / Unsplash

Kargo’s US$7.6 million seed round comprises cash from Kalanick’s fund as well as Agaeti Ventures, Intudo Ventures, Zhenfund, ATM Capital, Innoven Capital and Patrick Walujo, co-founder of Northstar Group. Sequoia Capital India led the investment.

The service was created by former Uber executive Tiger Fang, who was Uber’s general manager for China and later for Indonesia.

Photo credit: Tiger Fang

“The idea is to ​drive efficiencies for both shippers and transporters in a way that creates greater utility of available trucks,” said Fang in a statement sent to Tech in Asia. “Shippers and transporters can strike deals transparently with the comfort of knowing that they are dealing with verified, trusted, high-quality partners.”

“This framework will go a long way in raising the earning potential of truck drivers, and ​making sure that not a single truck will ever hit the road empty again​,” he added.

Kalanick established his 10100 Fund in March 2018, nine months after he quit Uber following a series of scandals and mishaps.

Travis Kalanick / Photo credit: Wikimedia

One of his earlier investments through the fund is CloudKitchens, which runs shared kitchen spaces designed for online meal deliveries. Kalanick also installed himself as CloudKitchens CEO.

Updated one hour after publishing: The original article misstated the round – it’s seed stage.