Bootstrapped Telogis raises $93M to bring location-based data to vehicle fleets

Telogis has raised a massive $93 million to help you get your beer in a timely fashion, among other things. 

The company provides software-as-a-service that helps large organizations manage and optimize their vehicle fleets. It works companies like beverage distributors, as well as cable and telecom providers, oil & gas and utility companies, and car manufacturers, to gather data about how their fleets are running and figure out how to make them more efficient.  

“Businesses that have 10,000 vehicles spend millions a year on gas, and they might have all these trucks sitting out in a yard that aren’t getting used,” said CFO Kyle Messman in an interview with VentureBeat. “When you send a mobile worker to do his job outside the four walls of your business, you might not have any idea how he is doing his job, and that makes it harder to manage.”

Telogis collects location-based data from embedded and installed hardware in vehicles, as well as from mobile devices. It works on over 40 different hardware platforms from 12 different manufactures and collects an impressive array of data 

This information is analyzed to seek out inefficiencies and find ways to resolve them. The technology can recommend the fastest routes to get worker to jobs, or show that certain parts of a fleet are being underused. It can also find out which drivers have dangerous driving habits and when a vehicle needs maintenance. 

Messman said that this kind of data has multiple benefits. It helps businesses save money on fuel and reduce their carbon footprint. It also helps them make smarter use of the resources they have, so money doesn’t get spent on unnecessary vehicles or employees.

Ultimately, he said these benefits filters into other areas of the business, like customer service.  

The mobile workforce presents a lot of operational and logistical challenges. There are a number of startups out there developing mobile apps for service providers who need tools to manage and motivate their teams, such as GroundCntrl and Springshot. 

On the fleet management side, LocalMotion helps corporate fleets set up car-sharing programs. 

Telogis does both. Messman said most of its clients need sophisticated “holistic” solutions that are enterprise-grade and can integrate with their legacy infrastructure. Most startups, simply, aren’t up to the task.   

The company has been around since 2001, before the “mobile” and “data” became two of the hottest areas of technology. The company was bootstrapped and profitable, but over the past four years, GPS, cloud computing, software-as-a-service, and the interest in making data-driven business decisions erupted, and Telogis decided it was time to raise money. 

Telogis expects to do generate between $90 and $100 million in revenue this year. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led this round, which will be used to grow the sales and marketing teams, as well as prepare Telogis for a potential IPO next year.    

“The penetration rates for these types of solutions are still low, “Messman said. “We don’t want to miss the window for accelerating our growth.”

Telogis is based in Orange County, California, with development offices in New Zealand and Austin. It has 400 employees.