FreightMate
“Can ex-Flexport operators build an AI-native automation layer that displaces manual data entry across freight forwarding and trucking back offices?”
Founded2024
HQBellevue, WA, United States
Total raised$5M
Latest roundSeed
IndustryVertical SaaS / Trucking
The story
Freightmate AI (operated by Payload Innovations) was founded in 2024 by ex-Flexport employees Bryan Lacaillade and Yingwei Zhao to automate freight forwarding and trucking back-office workflows. The product line consists of FreightMate (the trucking ops/dispatch app at freightmateapp.com) and Docmate (document ingestion / AP automation at freightmate.ai). The company is in early-stage seed mode and currently a workflow / TMS-adjacent SaaS — it does not appear to embed any payments, banking, lending, or other regulated financial products in its own app.
Last 12 months
Product timeline
2024
Freightmate AI founded by Bryan Lacaillade (CEO) and Yingwei Zhao (COO), both former Flexport employees, to automate trucking/freight forwarding workflows.· pivot
2025
Flexport sues founders alleging theft of source code and 70,000+ confidential documents; Freightmate denies the claims.· pivot
2025
Raised $5M seed round.· pivot
The stack
1 layer disclosed in FreightMate’s embedded-finance stack
Unified APIs
Accounting gap: none