Oway just closed a $4 million seed round to tackle a $100 billion problem hiding in plain sight: America's semitrucks are running half-empty across highways. The Y Combinator-backed startup promises to slash shipping costs by 50% using AI-powered cargo matching that turns trucking's biggest inefficiency into its next gold rush.
America's highways are hiding a trillion-dollar secret in plain sight. Oway founder Phillip Nadjafov knows exactly what it is: thousands of semitrucks rolling across the country with trailers only about half full.
That massive inefficiency just landed the San Francisco startup a $4 million seed round from Y Combinator and General Catalyst, with investors betting big on Nadjafov's promise to transform freight shipping into something resembling Uber for cargo. The company's already proving the concept works, slashing the cost of moving a pallet from Los Angeles to Dallas from $220 down to just $60.
"You shouldn't need to buy a whole 50-something-foot truck to move [something] across the country in order to get good pricing," Nadjafov told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview. "If you have a single box over 100 pounds you want to move across the country, you should be able to, now, with current technology, do that."
The timing couldn't be better. While competitors like Uber Freight and Flock Freight chase broader freight-matching models, Oway's laser focus on filling empty trailer space is resonating with major fleet operators who've been quietly partnering with the 12-person team. Nadjafov won't name names yet – the partnerships remain confidential – but says companies with "thousands of vehicles" are already integrating Oway's platform.
