The Venture Codex

Led · Series A · Apr 2023

Whisper Aero has designed an electric ducted fan that it says is both quieter and more efficient than existing propulsors, having iterated nine generations in two years. The company targets applications from small drones up to crewed eVTOL platforms and has demonstrated moving some noise into ultrasonic frequencies. It has pursued early validation and testing with U.S. Department of Defense partners, including the Air Force Research Lab, and claims a 55-pound drone can be effectively undetectable from the ground at 200 feet. Whisper emerged from stealth two years ago with $7.5 million in prior funding and now plans to commercialize first on the defense side. The company is headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee, employs roughly 10–50 people, and plans to double its team while expanding into an 8,000 sq ft Nashville design/prototyping facility and a 40,000 sq ft Crossville testing/production space. Longer-term plans include non-DOD verticals such as commercial aviation, industrial, and consumer products (the company has already demoed an electric leaf blower). Whisper Aero is developing an electric thruster intended to blend noise from delivery drones and eVTOL air taxis into background levels. The company emphasizes reducing not just overall volume but problematic acoustic profiles such as broadband and tonal components. Whisper says its product is being designed to be scalable and adoptable across different aircraft architectures. It has conducted static tests at its Tennessee headquarters, with some testing done in partnership with the U.S. Air Force, and plans dynamic wind-tunnel testing. The startup has attracted around $7.5 million in investment and intends to convert provisional patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office next year. Whisper aims to enter the small-drone market around 2023 and scale up to air taxis, targeting thruster manufacturing and vehicle integration by the end of the decade while still resolving remaining technical and cost challenges.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2019

Founded in 2014 and based in Chicago, Loadsmart builds automation and machine-learning systems to price, book, and move freight. Its platform matches loads to a network of over 680,000 trucks, employs a pricing model that considers 400+ parameters, and uses dynamic pricing to react to market shifts. Product features include GPS-guided cargo tracking, carrier screening for safety standards, and automated classification of shipping documents. The company has expanded via acquisitions (Kamion and Opendock), launched mode-optimization and a Home Depot-integrated marketplace, and opened a 35,000-square-foot headquarters. Loadsmart reported strong recent growth — 232% year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 2021 (32% quarter-over-quarter) and 114% year-over-year growth in Q3 2021 — with gross revenues north of $250 million and a projection to double in the next 12 months. It employed 581 people and says its gross margin profile is roughly double that of direct competitors. Loadsmart is an on-demand digital freight platform that lets customers book transportation across land, rail and ports from a single online portal. It recently added the ability to ship partial truckloads. The company plans to use new funding to continue building out its platform to offer more end-to-end logistics services. Loadsmart said it will pursue part of that expansion through a new collaboration with strategic investor TFI International. The company reported revenue growth of 250% across 2020 while keeping operating expenses flat. Loadsmart framed its growth as organic, contrasting its approach with competitors that it said subsidize customers’ freight spend. Loadsmart is a digital freight platform specializing in truckload and intermodal shipping. Co‑founded by Ricardo Salgado (CEO) and Felipe Capella (CPO), the company is based in Chicago and New York City. It leverages data and machine learning to build AI-driven processes into the freight cycle, enabling shippers to book a truck in seconds and providing instant, targeted loads to carriers. The company offers a web-based instant booking service for small and medium-sized shippers and an API-integrated solution for enterprise accounts. Loadsmart recently launched Loadsmart Drayage Instant Booking and is focusing on a Smart Drayage initiative funded by its latest raise. The firm’s financing position includes the new $19M round and prior rounds totaling $53.4M to date. Loadsmart is a NYC-based digital freight broker that leverages artificial intelligence to automate the truckload booking flow in the United States. It provides instant prices to shippers with capacity guaranteed on all U.S. lanes and offers manual booking or server-to-server API integration for automated bookings with no human intervention. The company was co-founded by Ricardo Salgado and Felipe Capella. Loadsmart plans to use the Series A proceeds to scale its operations team and double down on product and engineering. The company has raised a total of $34.7M to date. It also signed a strategic partnership with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management to explore mutually beneficial collaboration.