J.B. Hunt, UP.Labs to establish Logistics Venture Lab
Logistics Venture Lab aims to launch AI-enabled startups to solve core industry challenges.
J.B. Hunt Transport, one of the largest supply chain solutions providers in North America, and UP.Labs, a first-of-its-kind venture lab unlocking the future of transportation and mobility, announced the establishment of Logistics Venture Lab (LVL).
The logistics and freight-focused lab will aim to launch as many as six startups over the next three years to solve core strategic challenges within the industry, says an official release from J.B. Hunt. "The startups, the first of which the companies target to begin launching in 2025, are inspired by opportunities to drive efficiency and solve common problems faced by providers in the logistics and freight transportation space. They will focus on key industry service areas such as brokerage, dedicated, intermodal and truckload, among others."
Shelley Simpson, President and CEO, J.B. Hunt says: "From the inception of modern intermodal transit to digital freight matching platforms to emerging safety technology and beyond, J.B. Hunt has always been people-focused, technology-empowered and capacity-driven, and we’ve been on an innovation journey since our founding in 1961. Our collaboration with UP.Labs will continue this journey as we look for new ways to disrupt, adapt and accelerate across the transportation industry."
John Kuolt, Founder & CEO, UP.Labs adds: "I’m thrilled to be collaborating with J.B. Hunt, a leader in the transportation and logistics industry. Through the Logistics Venture Lab, we will launch startups rooted in big data, GenAI and emerging technologies to solve industry problems with some of the world's best entrepreneurs. Having successfully collaborated with Porsche, Alaska Airlines and an undisclosed retail corporate partner, we’re excited to bring our unique venture lab model to a new transportation sector – logistics and freight.”
UP.Labs is a venture lab and a core part of the UP.Partners ecosystem, which includes mobility investment fund UP.Ventures and the annual UP.Summit, an event that brings together 300 of the world’s most innovative minds rethinking the future of transportation, the release added.