Earlier today, RyderVentures announced its first fund investment: SmartHop, a Miami-tech startup that built a AI-powered dispatch solution that helps owner-operators of small trucking companies grow their businesses. RyderVentures participated in SmartHop’s $12 million Series A round, led by Union Square Ventures.
RyderVentures is the corporate venture fund of the homegrown logistics giant, Ryder System. It launched last fall and is targeting $50 million in startup investments over the next five years. “With RyderVentures, our goal is to identify earlier in the process those new technologies that address our customers’ pain points and work alongside the startups developing them to speed the solutions to market,” Karen Jones, Ryder’s chief marketing officer and executive vice president of new product innovation, said at the time of launch in October 2020. RyderVentures joins a growing number of industry-specific funds in South Florida, including Watsco Ventures, propelling innovation in the HVAC industry, and LAB Ventures Proptech Fund, aimed at real estate.
