The supply chain visibility platform that became essential when COVID proved that nobody actually knew where their stuff was. project44 connects to 175,000 carriers globally and shows companies where every shipment is in real time — something that was shockingly impossible for most companies before 2020. The $600 million in funding and $2.7 billion valuation say the market is real. The question is whether visibility becomes a commodity (everyone can track shipments) or a platform (project44 becomes the intelligence layer for global logistics).
Founded
2014
HQ
Chicago, IL
Total Raised
$600M
Founder
Jett McCandless
Status
Private — valued at approximately $2.7 billion
Website
www.project44.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Jett McCandless was working in freight logistics and was frustrated that the industry's tracking technology was stuck in the 1990s — phone calls, faxes, and emails to figure out where a shipment was. In 2014, he founded project44 to build the real-time visibility layer that supply chains desperately needed.
The COVID-19 pandemic was the accelerant: when global supply chains broke in 2020-2021, companies realized they had no idea where their goods were. Demand for visibility platforms exploded.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Supply chain visibility platform that gives shippers and logistics providers real-time tracking of freight shipments across all transportation modes — ocean, air, rail, and truck. The platform connects to carriers, ports, and logistics networks globally to provide a single pane of glass showing where every shipment is.
Revenue comes from SaaS subscriptions based on shipment volume. The pitch: Amazon knows where every package is in real time.
Project44 gives every company that same capability.
THE PRODUCTS
project44 Movement (real-time multimodal shipment tracking), Ocean Visibility (container tracking across global shipping lanes), Predictive ETAs (AI-powered arrival predictions), Exception Management (automated delay handling), Sustainability Insights (carbon tracking per shipment), and Carrier Network (connections to 175,000+ carriers globally).
HOW THEY GREW
Platform expansion beyond visibility. project44 is evolving from "where is my shipment?" to "what should I do about it?" — adding predictive analytics (ETA predictions, disruption forecasting), exception management (automated responses when shipments are delayed), and sustainability tracking (carbon emissions per shipment).
The Thoma Bravo investment signals potential for a take-private and operational optimization play.
THE HARD PART
Integration complexity. Every carrier, port, warehouse, and logistics provider has different technology systems.
Connecting to thousands of data sources globally — from a truck driver's GPS in Nebraska to a container ship's AIS signal in the South China Sea — requires enormous engineering effort. Competition from FourKites, Transporeon (acquired by Trimble), and carrier-native tracking tools creates pricing pressure.
The post-COVID supply chain normalization has slowed urgency-driven buying.
MONEY TRAIL
Series B
2018 · Led by Sapphire Ventures, 8VC
$35M raised
Series D
2021 · Led by Goldman Sachs, Insight Partners
$202M raised
Series E
2022 · Led by Thoma Bravo, Generation Investment Management
$420M raised
WHO BACKED THEM
Thoma Bravo, Goldman Sachs, Insight Partners, Generation Investment Management (Al Gore), and Sapphire Ventures backed project44.
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