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and founded New York-based Equal Ventures last year with the goal of investing in “founders who are bringing technology innovations to existing markets that will transform society and industry.”

In other words, they’re looking to back entrepreneurs looking to shake up existing industries that impact “the way we work and live.” Those industries include: insurance, logistics/supply chain, retail infrastructure and the care economy.

“We’re not focused on technology development, such as internet infrastructure, but more on the deployment of technology,” Zullo told me in a phone call. “Our core focus is to bring the knowledge and networks necessary to help founders solving problems in these complex and nuanced industries in their push to attract capital and bring products to market.”

Also, Equal has the ambitious goal of bridging the digital divide “between the combative worlds of incumbents and innovators.”

“One of our core beliefs is that by bridging that divide between the technology haves and have nots, benefits are more evenly distributed across all parts of society and industries,” Zullo said. “At the same time, we look to generate some great returns.”

Old-hand investors

Kerby and Zullo are no strangers to investing. They’ve previously backed and worked with a number of companies that have seen successful exits such as (acquired by ) and hiring platform (bought out by ). And they did this while working at VC firms such as , , and . Kerby also founded , a community for African Americans in tech.

The pair’s approach to sourcing deals for Equal Ventures is what they describe as data-driven. They spend the majority of their time researching and analyzing the dynamics of the markets in which they’re looking to invest. Their goal is to identify potential solutions to the market before it’s obvious.

Notably, they have an interesting mix of LPs, including founder and CEO . Other LPs include the founders of new Austin-based unicorn , traditional institutional LPs, university endowments, general partners of other VC firms and some Fortune 500 executives “who know how to move needles in these industries”

“Our LPs are a combination of industry operators, providers of investment capital and top-tier founders, which we believe is exciting alchemy for future success,” Zullo told Crunchbase News.

Staying connected

Equal Ventures had its first close last April and has since invested in six portfolio companies.

Those portfolio companies include: retail platform , home renovation marketplace , employee benefits-focused and , which aims to improve “the access, accountability, and affordability in the senior living market via a managed marketplace to help place seniors in the best facilities.”

Equal Ventures’ goal with the fund is to invest in 20 companies total with an average initial check of about $1.5 million, according to Zullo. It does not have a multistage strategy, he adds. Instead, the firm wants to get in at the early stage with a significant ownership stake.

“We’re a little bit more concentrated and focused on getting ownership early,” Zullo said. “We want significant skin in the game and at the same time, we don’t want to invest in too many companies so that we can make sure we have the time and resources necessary to be hands-on for those companies.”

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An unlikely unicorn, San Francisco-based KeepTruckin was co-founded by , a former VC at and ex-Googler. The trucking industry probably joins the construction industry in being among the least traditionally “sexy” sectors, which makes it ripe for disruption.

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The round brings KeepTruckin’s to $228 million, and takes its valuation to $1.4 billion, according to Makani. led the financing, which also included participation from existing investors , , and .

I asked Makani if he could provide some metrics to better understand the company’s growth. He wouldn’t share the company’s annual recurring revenue; however, he did tell me that revenue grew 300 percent in 2018, headcount doubled over the past year to just over 1,000, and KeepTruckin has 55,000 customers. When I asked if the company was profitable, he said only, “We have the resources from our () Series C still in the bank.”

So, why the massive raise then?

Makani said his company has “big plans” to meet demand within the giant trucking industry and needs the capital to help it meet its goals.

“We see big opportunity ahead of us,” he told Crunchbase News.

Makani co-founded KeepTruckin in 2013 after leaving Khosla Ventures, where he led investments in , , , and , “with the goal of improving the safety and efficiency of the trucking industry.”

��“Being able to manage a fleet means operators need to know how the actual truck and trailer are performing and where they are,” Makani told Crunchbase News. “They need to know if they’re safe to operate. So we built our own hardware to get customers visibility into their operations.”

The company started with compliance and electronic logs, addressing rules around how many hours drivers can drive consecutively or in a week. (The company’s hardware and software both monitors and regulates it.) KeepTruckin also has tools to help fleet managers know where their assets are and how they are being handled. For example, KeepTruckin’s Smart Dashcam and expanded safety features can help “a driver improve their performance over time while giving managers visibility into how their drivers are driving,” according to Makani.

Looking ahead, KeepTruckin will use the funds to continue hiring (to about 2,000 people over the next 18 months), further invest in hardware and software, double down on safety and efficiency, and build partnerships. The company also wants to invest in AI capabilities and machine vision as well as asset management functionality.

“We want to make roads safer and think there’s a lot more we can do to further improve safety,” Makani told Crunchbase News. “We also want to help our customers grow their businesses. Trucking is huge, and all fleet managers want access to the best loads and work with the best shippers.”

The data that KeepTruckin has accumulated over the years will help the company as it also focuses on the continued building out of its marketplace, which offers its customers “a catalog of customizable integrations designed to improve operational efficiencies and increase productivity.”

The app marketplace offers fleet operators, according to the company, “a one-stop shop where they can access exclusive integrations offered by partners.”

KeepTruckin is also looking to expand beyond North America in coming years.

“Trucking is forecasted to be a $1 trillion industry by 2024 and is the backbone of the global economy, yet has been underserved by technology,” said , founder and managing partner of Greenoaks Capital, in a written statement. “The network that KeepTruckin has built will enable it to change the way freight is moved on our roads.”

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