At Armstrong Transport Group, a $1.3 billion freight brokerage, the workload of operations staff used to mean long nights spent chasing down documents and tracking shipments. Since adopting a new AI platform this spring, some employees say they can now handle twice as many loads in a day and still get to leave on time. “If it gets sent to Augie, it gets done,” said William McManus, an operations specialist at the firm.
That software, Augie, is the flagship product of San Francisco-based Augment, which announced Thursday it had raised an $85 million Series A led by Redpoint Ventures. The round brings the company’s total funding to $110 million, which Augment says comes roughly five months after it emerged from stealth.
An AI “Teammate” for Freight Operators
Augie is marketed as an “AI teammate” for brokers, shippers, and carriers. Unlike earlier automation tools that typically handled a single task, Augie is designed to manage the full “order-to-cash” cycle in freight: quoting, dispatch, tracking, appointment scheduling, document collection, and billing. It operates across multiple systems and channels, including email, phone, transportation management software, and chat platform, while maintaining context around each shipment.
“Logistics runs on millions of decisions, under pressure, across fragmented systems, and with too many tabs open,” said Harish Abbott, co-founder and CEO of Augment. “Augie doesn’t just assist. It takes ownership”.
Since its launch earlier this year, Augment says Augie has been adopted by dozens of third-party logistics providers and now supports more than $35 billion in freight under management. Armstrong Transport Group reports that the system has reduced invoice delays by 40%, shortened billing cycles by more than a week, and improved gross margins per load by over 5%. “We’ve seen reps go from managing 10 loads a day to 20 or 30, with higher morale and stronger customer service,” said Cameron Ramsdell, Armstrong’s chief executive.
Funding Momentum and Market Position
The Series A will be used to expand Augie’s capabilities and scale hiring, including more than 50 engineering roles. Augment says it plans to extend into multimodal operations and add sales and back-office automation features such as pricing support and customer insights.
For investors, the appeal is the promise of an integrated system in a sector where operators often rely on fragmented software. “We invested in Augment because they’re creating the system of work the logistics industry has always needed through AI-driven, end-to-end automation,” said Jacob Effron, managing director at Redpoint Ventures.
Other backers emphasized the same point. “Enterprises are tired of juggling disconnected AI tools. What they need is a single platform that delivers real, end-to-end value,” said Burak Cendek, partner at Autotech Ventures.
The company is entering a competitive market. Established players such as FedEx and UPS have signaled their own investments in AI technology, while startups like Vooma and FleetWorks are developing freight automation platforms. Augment’s differentiation, according to the company and its investors, lies in its focus on end-to-end workflows and embedding directly into the systems used daily by operators.
Abbott argues that the market is large enough to support multiple approaches. “Freight and logistics is a very large industry that employs lots of people who are busy chasing emails, documents, phone calls, text messages all day long,” he told TechCrunch. “Augie can take care of all that like their own personal assistant, so they can focus on relationships and negotiations”.
For now, Augment is concentrated on North American trucking, but Abbott has said the company’s long-term vision includes international shipping and multimodal logistics. Whether it can sustain adoption and broaden its footprint will depend on execution in an industry known for slow technology uptake and thin margins.
Still, Augment and its customers report early signs of efficiency gains. With fresh capital to expand its engineering team and product scope, the company is betting that its model of an AI “teammate” will continue to gain traction. As Abbott put it, “Freight is essential but often unsung. We’re building Augie for the people behind the freight, so they can focus on the work that actually matters”.
