Ryder Launches $50 Million Corporate Venture Capital Fund: RyderVentures

Rhea-AI Summary

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) has launched RyderVentures, a new corporate venture capital fund aimed at investing $50 million over five years. The fund will focus on start-ups innovating in logistics and transportation technology amidst growing e-commerce demands. Ryder aims to leverage its extensive industry experience and customer base to expedite the development of solutions that address customer challenges. Through partnerships with start-ups, Ryder seeks to enhance its capabilities in automation, data analytics, and next-generation vehicles.

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• Launch of RyderVentures with a $50 million investment target over five years.
• Focus on innovative start-ups addressing logistics and transportation disruptions due to e-commerce growth.
• Opportunity to leverage extensive industry experience to accelerate technology solutions.

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• None.

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R), a leader in supply chain, dedicated transportation and commercial fleet management solutions, today announces RyderVentures, a new corporate venture capital fund to invest in and partner with start-up companies that are developing new technologies and business models that deliver advancements and automation in the logistics and transportation industries.

RyderVentures is targeting $50 million in investments over the next five years. The focus is on start-up companies that are tackling disruptions in the supply chain, driven by accelerating demand for e-commerce fulfillment, asset sharing, next-generation vehicles, automation, and data analytics, among others.

“Ryder has a strong history in leveraging emerging technologies that help make our business and, ultimately, our customers’ businesses better and more competitive,” says Karen Jones, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of new product innovation at Ryder. “With RyderVentures, our goal is to identify earlier in the process those new technologies that address our customers’ pain points and work alongside the start-ups developing them to speed the solutions to market. We’re looking for innovative technologies from start-ups with strong growth potential but need the expertise of an industry leader with the depth and breadth of experience that comes with nearly 90 years in logistics.”

With more than 50,000 customers including some of the biggest brands across more than 20 industries and relationships with some of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers, Ryder is in a unique position to help start-ups accelerate their development, pilot and perfect their products in real use cases, speed their products to market, and scale for wide-spread adoption.

Additionally, the company brings experience in creating its own successful start-up COOP by Ryder^TM – a first-of-its-kind, peer-to-peer commercial truck sharing platform. Ryder has also partnered with several technology start-ups to develop its RyderShare^TM product, a real-time visibility and collaboration platform for supply chain, as well as worked with other new players leading the charge in electric and autonomous vehicles, charging infrastructure, and smart warehousing.

“With their decades of expertise and engaged executive mentorship, Ryder knows how to help start-ups maximize potential,” says Farzin Shadpour, vice president at Plug and Play, the world's largest innovation platform that brings together the best start-ups and the world’s largest corporations. “We’ve been working with Ryder since 2017 to accelerate the development of some of the greatest emerging technologies. They’ve been an invaluable partner.”

In addition to working with numerous start-ups and accelerators, Ryder continues to collaborate with venture capital funds focused on delivering advancements in logistics and transportation.

“Ryder has been extremely helpful in Autotech’s diligence of ground transport start-ups,” says Quin Garcia, managing director at Autotech Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm focused on innovation in ground transportation. “We’re excited that they are ready to take the next step with their own corporate venture capital arm, where making direct investments will allow Ryder to further align incentives with start-ups, while continuing our partnership to combine Ryder’s scale with innovative start-ups to advance the future of mobility.”

For more information, visit ryder.com/ryderventures or email RyderVentures@ryder.com.

About Ryder System, Inc.
Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) is a leading logistics and transportation company. It provides supply chain, dedicated transportation, and commercial fleet management solutions, including full service leasing, rental, and maintenance, used vehicle sales, professional drivers, transportation services, freight brokerage, warehousing and distribution, e-commerce fulfillment, and last mile delivery services, to some of the world’s most-recognized brands. Ryder provides services throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In addition, Ryder manages more than 250,000 commercial vehicles and operates more than 300 warehouses encompassing approximately 55 million square feet. Ryder is regularly recognized for its industry-leading practices in third-party logistics, technology-driven innovations, commercial vehicle maintenance, environmentally friendly solutions, corporate social responsibility, world-class safety and security programs, military veteran recruitment initiatives, and the hiring of a diverse workforce. www.ryder.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements and information included in this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on our current plans and expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements should be evaluated with consideration given to the many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including those risks set forth in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors or to assess the impact of such risks on our business. Accordingly, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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