Basic info

• Year founded: 2023

• Team size: 11 - 50

• HQ location: San Francisco, CA

• Regions served: California, with delivery to Arizona, Nevada, and Dallas.

  
  

What's the backstory?

• Phillip, the founder of Oway, previously scaled a company building defense vehicles for NATO and the UN, supplying $70M/year in government contracts.

• He started working on Oway in 2023, after he realized that on average, truck trailers are only 50% utilized.

• To date, they've been focused on getting liquidity in their initial US West Coat markets, with plans to eventually expand through the entire US.

  
  

Who do they work with?

• Any kind of shipper using palletized freight — including ecommerce, grocery, distributors, manufacturers, suppliers, and logistics companies.

• The max load size is 8 pallets.

  
  

How does it work?

• For shippers — Oway's app provides an Uber-like booking experience for loads. They guarantee pickup within 2 hours if a load is booked before 1 PM.

• For independent truck drivers — Oway provides an app that pings them when small loads are available along their existing route. If they have capacity (as they often do), they can opt to pick it up.

What makes it different?

• 50% cheaper than LTL — Independent operators will accept lower-than-market pricing on these loads, Prices on the platform are lower than because for truck drivers, these loads are "free money" that utilize otherwise-wasted space and take no more than 30 minutes to collect.

• Safer than LTL — Because all loads are going point-to-point (instead of through multiple LTL cross-docking hubs), there are fewer touches and a lower chance of damaged goods.

• Not a broker — Oway isn't a broker or an LTL network; they piggyback on existing loads, so they can work with any operator.

  
  

How does pricing work?

• Pricing is set transparently by Oway's algorithm, and shippers can pay via the app on a per-load basis.