Exclusive: ClearJet raises $25M to build the ‘Uber of Cargo’
figure — clearJet, an AI-enabled logistics technology startup, has raised a $25 million Series B, it tells Crunchbase News exclusively. Edison Partners led the raise, which brings the Austin-based startup’s total funding to $40 million since its 2022 inception.
Returning backers Venture53, Origin Ventures, SaltVC and SpringTime Ventures also participated in the round. ClearJet’s earlier investors include Sky VC, formerly JetBlue Ventures, and Tandem Ventures. ClearJet’s model is straightforward. Rather than build its own fleet of planes or trucks, it connects shippers with unused cargo capacity on commercial flights already traveling between U.S. cities to move e-commerce packages around the U.S. Customers include major multibillion-dollar retailers, e-commerce platforms, 3PLs and marketplaces. Chris Guggenheim, founder and CEO of ClearJet. (Courtesy photo) In just three years, the startup has built what founder and CEO Chris Guggenheim calls a “super carrier,” a network that now spans 95 U.S. airports and connects retailers with major U.S. airlines and multiple final-mile delivery providers. This network gives retailers a way to ship packages so that they travel directly between cities on passenger planes already in the air rather than through the traditional networks used by major parcel carriers. Unlike a traditional parcel carrier, ClearJet doesn’t own the planes transporting those packages. Instead, its asset-light “Uber for cargo” model taps available capacity on flights that are already traveling between cities. The startup says its approach can cut shipping costs by as much as 35% while speeding deliveries by one to three days. “We’re basically connecting with the already moving aircraft,” Guggenheim told Crunchbase News in an interview.
