Nearly $1 billion in funding is raised by Flexport, a freight forwarding firm, with the addition of Shopify and Michael Dell as investors.

• Flexport, a freight forwarding company, has secured a $935 million Series E funding round, increasing its valuation to $8 billion.
• The San Francisco-based company has now raised nearly $2.3 billion to date.
• The latest funding round for the company is being led by Andreessen Horowitz and Michael Dell's MSD Partners, with a strategic investment from Shopify.

Flexport announced Monday that it raised $935 million in a Series E funding round, valuing the freight forwarding company at $8 billion, nearly triple its last reported valuation in 2019, according to PitchBook data. The San Francisco-based company, ranked No. 41 on last year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list, has now raised nearly $2.3 billion to date.

The latest funding round for the company is being led by Andreessen Horowitz and Michael Dell's MSD Partners, with a strategic investment from a new investor. Existing investors including DST Global, Founders Fund, SoftBank's Vision Fund I, and former Greylock VC Kevin Kwok also participated in the round.

The freight industry, worth trillions of dollars, has lagged behind the pace of the 21st century, relying heavily on outdated methods such as ledgers, email, and phone calls for communication. The pandemic has brought numerous challenges, including port congestion and a shortage of shipping containers, resulting in higher costs and delays. These issues have highlighted the importance of the logistics industry, which is often overlooked.

Flexport's shipping and customs management services are moving legacy approaches to the cloud, where all businesses are heading today. Its data platform can analyze costs, container efficiency, and greenhouse gas emissions, which is becoming increasingly important for companies in the logistics industry and their corporate clients, who are all looking to reduce their carbon footprint throughout the business value chain.

During the past year, CEO Ryan Petersen has concentrated on addressing questions such as how much PPE can fit in a passenger plane, as the company has transported tens of millions of masks globally during Covid outbreaks.

The pandemic has made the transportation of goods a daily challenge, but this investment shows that the market recognizes the need for a tech-enabled logistics ecosystem that can handle unexpected challenges of any scale, according to Petersen.

Flexport, with over 10,000 clients and suppliers in 112 countries, reportedly doubled its revenue last year. Now, with new financing, the company plans to expand into new markets and speed up the development of its technology.