Zeus nets £1.8m in funding

UK-based logtech startup Zeus, which is modernising road freight management with its next-generation digital freight matching platform, has raised £1.8m in its first-ever angel funding round.

The company, which achieved 326% growth in total volume in 2021, has now raised over £4.3m since it was first conceived in 2019, and comes as the startup passes its two-year milestone since it was launched in August 2020. Zeus’ growth also reached a key milestone last month after it expanded into Europe, handling freight routes in France, Italy and the Czech Republic for the pioneering international fashion retailer Primark.

This angel round had participation from investors: Robin Ladow, Founder of Marl Capital and Lead Investor; Ahmed Abou Hashima, Chief Executive Officer of Egyptian Steel; Jai Shroff, Global CEO of UPL Limited, a global investor in sustainable development; Nick Crosby, Chief Sales Officer at Data Techniques; James Burrows, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vertical Futures, the industry-leading vertical farming startup; Jordan’s former Transport Minister Sahel Al-Majali; and Duncan Lindsay, Founder of Networks Centre.

Clemente Theotokis, Co-Founder and joint-Managing Director, said: “Zeus has seen significant growth since its launch. This investment will further fund our expansion into Europe, where we are already rapidly gaining new clients, and the development of new SaaS solutions to further digitise our clients’ supply chains and accelerate the path to implementing sustainable freight.”

Zeus now serves more than 40 enterprise-level clients, including Primark, P&G, Decathlon, AB InBev and Apollo Tyres, handling over 660,000 tonnes of cargo annually worth circa £6bn.

The platform offers a near ‘zero-touch’ approach to managing road freight, with complete end-to-end tracking, reconciliation and system integrations. It reduces road freight administration for both shippers and hauliers, while helping small-medium fleets grow quickly with fast payment terms.

Ahmed Abou Hashima, who steered Egyptian Steel to securing 25% of Egypt’s national steel production and is now one of the biggest industrial companies in the Middle East, said: “Globally, Zeus may be a later entrant to the freight automation sector, however they are showing a true grasp of the need for layers of innovation and invention meshed together with skilled teams and clear strategic planning. The rapid growth of the technology and customer base convinced me that Zeus represents an excellent vision for the future of freight, globally.”

Zeus Co-Founder and joint-Managing Director, Jai Kanwar, added: “We could not be more excited about the completion of this round. These leaders present great strategic value to a fast-growing startup like Zeus as successful business minds as well as savvy financiers. I’m thrilled about what the future holds for Zeus now that we have these amazing partners onboard and the chance to make our vision truly come alive.”