Inbizzy, Los Angeles, United States – Sustainable logistics startup Nevoya has raised $9.3 million in seed funding, marking a major milestone in its mission to decarbonize freight transport. The company now offers electric truck-based shipping services in California at cost parity with diesel trucks, positioning itself as a disruptive force in the shift toward zero-emission logistics.
Founded by Sami Khan and co-founder John Verdon (former Head of Business Development at Waymo), Nevoya runs a distinctive model: it purchases electric trucks and leases them to shippers. The company has already partnered with 10 Fortune 500 companies, signaling increasing demand for sustainable freight solutions.
In an interview with TechCrunch (https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/22/nevoya-raises-9-3m-seed-round-as-its-ev-truck-fleet-reaches-cost-parity-with-diesel/) , Khan noted:
“The idea of lowering carbon emissions is still attractive to the Fortune 500s.”
Optimizing Operations with Artificial Intelligence
One of Nevoya’s competitive advantages lies in its deep integration of artificial intelligence (AI). The company uses AI to optimize route planning, load balancing, charging schedules, and battery management—drastically improving efficiency and reducing energy usage.
“When we started running the trucking business, we looked at what [everybody was] doing, and we meticulously looked at every minute-by-minute of what was going on. We came to the conclusion that 90% of what was going on could be automated or semi-automated,” said Khan.
Rather than replacing human dispatchers, this automation allows them to focus on customer communication, while increasing operational accuracy and responsiveness.
Lowercarbon Capital Leads Funding Round
Nevoya’s $9.3M seed round was led by Lowercarbon Capital, following strong investor interest as the company demonstrated measurable cost efficiency. Other participants include Floating Point, LMNT Ventures, and returning investors Third Sphere, Stepchange, and Never Lift.
Qasar Younis, founder and CEO of self-driving AI firm Applied Intuition, also joined the round.
Khan recalled a conversation with Shawn Xu from Lowercarbon that marked a turning point:
“[Xu] basically said, like, no, no, no, do a big round now. We’re going to lead it, and we’re going to run with it,” said Khan.
“It was, really validating, frankly, to have an investor that in the first round said ‘we’re going to sit on the sidelines,’ then come in and preempt the next round.”
Expanding to Texas Amid Infrastructure Challenges
Nevoya plans to use the new capital to expand beyond California into other major logistics hubs, starting with Texas, where the company is already hauling freight in Houston and Dallas.
However, expansion isn’t without its challenges. In Texas, charging infrastructure is still limited, prompting Nevoya to deploy creative solutions like overnight charging at passenger EV stations or at unused school bus depots. These workarounds reduce upfront infrastructure costs while benefiting local site owners through off-peak revenue.
A “Startup Within a Startup” Growth Strategy
To drive regional growth, Nevoya is replicating the hyper-local strategy popularized by companies like Uber—appointing general managers to run each location with full autonomy and entrepreneurial focus.
“That kind of competitive element of pitting these incredibly smart, talented general managers against each other is really, really effective in driving that next level of performance for the business,” Khan explained.
Investors See Scalability and Real-World Efficiency
Xu, who initially held back on investing, said he wanted to see clear cost parity and operational traction before joining. But once Nevoya delivered on both fronts, he was convinced the model had global relevance.
“They’re getting lower cost per mile. They’re getting lower maintenance costs. The AI orchestration for efficiency on the route optimization is starting to bear fruit,” said Xu.
“So yeah, we ended up raising a much larger round that ended up being even more oversubscribed than we had expected. And now we’re off to the races.”
By combining advanced AI technology, a scalable business model, and world-class investor backing, Nevoya is emerging as a leader in sustainable freight logistics. Its data-driven, asset-light expansion strategy positions the company to meet the evolving demands of global transport—where cost-efficiency and carbon reduction are no longer trade-offs, but twin imperatives.
