Logistics tech startup Airspace raises $70M led by early Tesla investor DBL Partners to revolutionize time-critical delivery

Airspace, a California-based tech startup that is revolutionizing time-critical logistics using AI and machine learning, has raised a $70 million round co-led by early Tesla investor impact investing venture firm DBL Partners and HarbourVest Partners. They’re joined by existing investors Scale Ventures, Defy Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, and Prologis Ventures.

In conjunction with the funding, Airspace also announced that Ira Ehrenpreis, Founder and Managing Partner at DBL Partners, and Joel Hwang, Principal of HarbourVest, have been appointed to its Board of Directors.

The round, which almost doubles Airspace’s previous funding, will be used to accelerate its market penetration in Europe and further expand into Asia. The latest round brings total company funding to date to $138 million.

In addition, Airspace will also use the new cash infusion to build out its core business while also launching new service lines such as expedited freight, and will expand into new customer verticals such as semiconductor, automotive, and cleantech.

Nicholas Bulcao and Ryan Rusnak founded in 2016 to solve the problems that plagued time-critical deliveries. After more than a decade in logistics, Nick Bulcao teamed up with Ryan Rusnak to build the industry’s most technologically advanced platform in order to expedite deliveries, improve accuracy, and provide full transparency for critical shipments.

Unlike other logistics platforms, Airspace logistics is built to automate third-party delivery and supply chain services developed specifically for time-sensitive shipments, like organs for transplant or aircraft replacement parts.

Using its company’s technology, Airspace claims it takes a matter of seconds to analyze millions of flight options and determine best service routes for its customers. “In the amount of time it took you to read this sentence, our technology has already analyzed over 12 million flight options and determined over 10,000 potential service routes for our customers,” the company said on its website.

In a press release, Ira Ehrenpreis, founder and managing partner at DBL Partners, said: “Airspace is unique in its ability to provide complete transparency into the carbon footprint of time-critical deliveries, enabling customers to optimize routes with the least possible environmental impact.”

Airspace has been building momentum over the past six years, growing 110% in 2021 and opening offices in Carlsbad, CA, Dallas, Amsterdam, and Stockholm. This summer, the company’s newest office location will open in London. Airspace now has more than 300 employees and has completed over one million shipments. It serves numerous Fortune 500 companies that include industry leaders in healthcare, aerospace, semiconductor, and automotive manufacturing.

“We’re thrilled to announce this new round of funding, which will help us capitalize on the immense opportunity in the time-critical logistics industry,” said Nick Bulcao, co-founder and CEO at Airspace. “As we grow, our AI and machine learning platform only gets better, allowing us to better predict and dynamically respond to the challenges of critical logistics. With supply chain disruptions continuing to impact countries worldwide, no time in history has time-critical shipping & logistics been so essential to ensuring these complex and sensitive shipments reach their destinations on time. With these additional funds, we’ll be able to expand into new geographies and industries, reliably delivering critical packages when time is of the essence, in the most environmentally conscious way possible.”

The market for time-critical shipping has exploded in the wake of global supply chain disruptions and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.98% and surpass $32.46 billion by 2030. Airspace is currently leading the logistics space tracking over 16,000 touchpoints throughout the course of a time-critical shipment.