Nevoya Raises $9.3 Million in Backing for Expansion Plans
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California-based carrier Nevoya raised $9.3 million in seed financing to bolster its expansion plans, the company said July 22.
The second round of backing for Nevoya — which only operates battery-electric trucks and has built a proprietary artificial intelligence-driven transportation management system — was led by venture capital firm Lowercarbon Capital.
Nevoya — which runs routes in California and Texas — plans to use the funds for expanding into new corridors and markets; further development of its TMS; adding sales, operations and engineering staff; and inking partnerships. Over the coming 12 months, the company intends to scale up to 100 battery-electric trucks and expand across northern and southern California, Texas and Arizona, a spokeswoman told Transport Topics.
New financial backers for the company include VC firms Floating Point and LMNT Ventures, while existing investors Third Sphere, Stepchange and Never Lift provided further support.
Nevoya’s first round of funding was secured in November 2024, when the carrier secured $3 million in initial seed funding from backers including Third Sphere, Never Lift and San Francisco and New York-based VC firm RedBlue Capital.
Nevoya is participating in NACFE's fifth Run on Less Program in September. (Nevoya)
The carrier focuses on shorthaul, regional applications, where it believes electrification is already feasible.
In September, Nevoya will participate in the North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s Run on Less — program with a battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia day cab tractor operating out of Colton, Calif.
The goal of the latest initiative — NACFE’s fifth Run on Less program — is to explore various alternative fueling options and investigate the need for infrastructure changes to accommodate alternative-fuel vehicles, NACFE said.
Nevoya’s home base for the program will be Greenlane’s inaugural charging station in Colton. Nevoya was announced as the first commercial fleet customer for Colton in April.
Charging infrastructure developer Greenlane is a joint venture between Freightliner parent Daimler Truck North America, investment group BlackRock and renewable power supplier NextEra Energy.
The Colton facility will be Greenlane’s first step toward a nationwide buildout of refueling options for battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles — a planned Interstate 15 charging network.
Nevoya is led by co-founders Sami Khan, John Verdon and Tom Atwood. CEO Khan is a former private equity banker and analyst. Verdon previously worked for Motive and on Waymo’s commercial trucking team. Supply chain data scientist Atwood is the company’s chief technology officer.
From left: Nevoya co-founders John Verdon, Sami Khan and Tom Atwood. (Nevoya)
“We don’t just move freight — we embed ourselves in our customers’ operations, uncovering insights that others miss,” according to Khan. “This customer-centric approach drives our technology development, ensuring the transition to zero-emissions trucking is seamless.”
“In just six months, we’ve onboarded Fortune 500 customers and leading 3PLs, demonstrating to them that zero-emissions freight can be cost-competitive with diesel while delivering superior service reliability,” he added.
The company’s TMS platform optimizes vehicle utilization, routes and energy consumption, which Nevoya believes can insulate the carrier from the ongoing turmoil in the freight market and also decreasing federal and state support for battery-electric trucks.
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“Unlike subsidy-dependent competitors, Nevoya has built a self-sufficient, demand-driven model that creates competitive advantages as policy changes create supply-demand imbalances,” Khan told TT in an email.
“Our customers … remain driven by their own net-zero commitments rather than regulatory mandates,” he said. “The combined policy effects may paradoxically strengthen Nevoya’s market position by reducing competition from subsidy-dependent players while maintaining robust enterprise demand for zero-emissions solutions.”
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