Warp Raises $10 Million Series A to Transform Middle-Mile Freight with AI and Robotics
July 2, 2025
byFenoms Start-Up Research
Los Angeles-based logistics startup Warp has secured a $10 million Series A funding round led by Up.Partners and Blue Bear Capital. This new investment brings Warp’s total funding to $22 million since its founding in 2021, positioning it to dramatically reshape the future of middle-mile freight through advanced automation and artificial intelligence.
Warp is targeting the often-neglected middle mile - the part of the supply chain responsible for moving goods between suppliers, warehouses, and distribution centers. While last-mile delivery gets most of the attention, inefficiencies in the middle mile cause cascading delays, wasted costs, and unpredictable service. Warp’s approach combines a robust carrier network, sophisticated software, and robotics, turning this historically messy segment into a streamlined, data-driven machine.
At the core of Warp’s operations is a highly integrated software stack connecting warehouse management systems (WMS), inventory management systems (IMS), and transportation management systems (TMS). Using real-time routing algorithms and smart pricing engines, Warp empowers shippers to pick the delivery speed and cost that works for them, without worrying about complex manual routing decisions. This model not only delivers up to 25% in cost savings but also maintains a remarkable 98% on-time delivery rate - a game changer in an industry notorious for delays.
AI and Robotics at the Heart of Warp’s Strategy
One of Warp’s boldest innovations is its push to build fully robotic cross-dock facilities. In these hubs, freight is unloaded, sorted, and reloaded for outbound shipments with minimal human intervention. CEO Daniel Sokolovsky describes this approach as "multiplying output rather than simply adding headcount," a strategic choice that emphasizes scaling through technology rather than labor alone.
Currently, Warp operates more than 50 warehouse hubs and leverages a carrier network of over 10,000 vehicles across the U.S. With this new funding, the company plans to roll out robotic facilities in major markets such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New Jersey, Dallas, and Miami. By automating these critical middle-mile touchpoints, Warp can reduce operational errors, accelerate throughput, and deliver a consistent, high-quality service even during peak surges.
Now, here’s an insight every founder can learn from Warp’s approach: while many startups obsess over top-line growth, the truly transformative companies focus on redefining core workflows in "boring" or entrenched industries. Warp didn’t invent new trucks or simply offer cheaper rates - they rethought the fundamental assumptions behind middle-mile freight, building a platform that orchestrates logistics like software. By questioning what has long been considered "just how it works," founders can unlock entirely new value pools and create markets that didn’t exist before. If you're building a company, ask yourself: which part of your industry do people tolerate instead of love? That’s often where the biggest opportunity lives.
Nationwide Expansion of Automated Cross-Docks
As Warp rolls out these robotic cross-dock facilities, it is poised to become the first logistics company to fully automate this critical layer at scale. The robotic systems - powered by automated arms, AI-driven sorting, and precision conveyor technology - can process shipments more accurately and much faster than human teams ever could. This innovation not only tackles one of logistics’ biggest challenges - labor shortages - but also significantly reduces errors, which directly impact downstream supply chain reliability.
Moreover, Warp’s proprietary DirecTrack system ensures that shippers can monitor their shipments in real time, down to the pallet level. Unlike traditional middle-mile carriers that operate largely in the dark, Warp offers full transparency, building stronger trust and offering shippers the ability to proactively manage inventory and distribution with unprecedented accuracy.
Warp’s Competitive Edge and Future Vision
What sets Warp apart isn’t just its blend of hardware and software but its ability to scale quickly and adapt to fluctuating demand without simply adding more trucks or warehouse staff. By embedding intelligent software into every layer of the network, Warp creates a logistics ecosystem that can flex and scale like a true tech platform - something the traditional players, burdened by manual processes, cannot easily replicate.
CEO Daniel Sokolovsky, who previously co-founded AxleHire and led Amazon’s last-mile services, alongside co-founder Troy Lester, designed Warp to merge deep logistics expertise with technology-first thinking. Their strategy underscores that long-term dominance doesn’t come from cost-cutting alone but from fundamentally transforming user experience and operational certainty.
The recent vote of confidence from investors like Blue Bear Capital signals Warp’s disruptive potential. Vaughn Blake of Blue Bear described Warp’s approach as delivering “certainty and predictability where the industry has long accepted volatility as normal,” highlighting just how groundbreaking this vision is.
A New Era for Middle-Mile Freight
Warp’s $10 million Series A is more than just a funding milestone - it represents a bold validation of a future where automation and AI reshape not just the last mile, but the entire journey of goods through the supply chain. As expectations rise for faster, cheaper, and more transparent delivery, Warp’s intelligent orchestration and automated infrastructure provide a clear glimpse into how freight will move tomorrow.
Rather than making incremental tweaks to legacy models, Warp is rebuilding logistics from the ground up, prioritizing agility, precision, and real-time insight. The result is a system as intelligent and dynamic as the software products that today’s tech companies build and ship.
With its bold vision and technological edge, Warp is setting new standards for middle-mile logistics, proving that the future of freight is as much about code and robotics as it is about trucks and pallets. As the company expands nationally and deepens its AI-driven capabilities, it stands ready to redefine what it means to move goods - faster, smarter, and more reliably than ever before.