Spanish startup Pulpo, which offers a software platform for smart fleet management, has closed an $8 million financing round, led by Mexican venture capital fund Nazca Ventures, advised by Across Legal.
Other international funds such as Femsa Ventures, Swanlaab, Mexico Ventures and Cracks Funds, as well as business angels from the sector, have also participated in the transaction.
The capital injection will allow Pulpo to continue expanding the functionalities of its platform to include management aspects related to electric vehicles, sustainability and emissions reduction, as well as to strengthen its commitment to artificial intelligence to predict vehicle incidents, reduce costs and optimise operations.
The startup, which has raised a total of $15 million since its founding in 2017, says it plans to hire more than 200 people by 2023 to expand its engineering, product, sales and customer success areas (a complementary department to customer service) in Spain and Latin America.
Pulpo, created by Evaristo Babé, Javier Arambarri and Pablo Sosa, has developed an operating system that, according to the company, manages to make fleets more efficient, as well as centralising all the data generated by vehicles and offering complete control over them, showing inefficiencies and real-time alerts that help its customers to make agile, data-based decisions. Currently, the company, present in 14 countries, including Spain, counts among its clients Repsol, DHL, Cemex, Bureau Veritas, Mercado Libre, SolRed, Zentis and SGS. Its investors also include Wayra, the CDTI and Tinello Capital (a Colombian fund).
Part of the funding raised will also go towards the launch of PulpoPay, a payment method specialised in vehicle fleets. The aim is to help companies control their total expenses, including fuel, travel expenses, maintenance, etc., by analysing the data generated by their vehicles.
Source: Cinco Días
