Parade, a San Francisco-based startup that provides a capacity management platform for freight brokers, announced today that it has raised $17 million in a funding round led by I Squared Capital, a private equity firm that specializes in global infrastructure investments.

The funding round also saw participation from existing and new investors, including Menlo Ventures, Greenhawk Capital, Jones Capital, The House Fund, Operator Stack, Earthshot Ventures, Lineage Logistics, and Redbird Capital.

Parade’s platform uses artificial intelligence to help freight brokers automate and optimize their freight booking process, by converting conversations into bookings, developing carrier networks, and pricing capacity dynamically. The company claims that its platform can increase freight brokerages’ revenue by up to 40%, while reducing operational costs by up to 80%.

With the new funding, Parade plans to expand its product offerings and integration ecosystem, as well as to grow its team and customer base. The company also aims to leverage its Generative AI technology, which can create natural language responses and offers for carriers based on their preferences and behavior.

“Parade is transforming the way freight brokers buy and sell truckload capacity. Our platform enables brokers to achieve superhuman scale by automating manual tasks and unlocking new revenue opportunities,” said Anthony Sutardja, co-founder and CEO of Parade. “We are thrilled to partner with I Squared Capital and our other investors to accelerate our vision of building the future of freight.”

“We are impressed by Parade’s innovative technology and strong traction in the freight brokerage market. We believe that Parade has the potential to become a leading player in the digital transformation of the logistics industry,” said Gautam Bhandari, partner at I Squared Capital. “We look forward to supporting Parade’s growth and expansion as they continue to deliver value to their customers.”