- sennder raised €228 million, with €155 million coming from financing facilities and €73 million from equity.
- The company reported positive monthly EBITDA and is on track to hit €1 billion in revenue in 2026.
- All the new equity came from existing investors, with Scania and Poste Italiane leading the round.
sennder started in late 2015, transporting parcels via long-distance coaches and couriers. That model didn’t work, so the founders switched to full truckloads in 2016. 11 years on, they’re now reporting positive monthly EBITDA and have raised €228 million to fuel growth.
The package consists of €155 million in financing facilities and €73 million in new equity. Coface has provided a €100 million non-recourse factoring facility, and the EIB has provided a €40 million facility. Plus, there’s a €15 million supply chain finance facility via CFLOX and Deutsche Bank.
Equity contributions were €47 million over the two years prior to 2026 and €26 million in 2026.
From coach parcels to 150,000 shipments a month
David Nothacker started sennder as an INSEAD MBA project, inspired by a class on the BlaBlaCar model, connecting shippers with small freight companies. He was a consultant at Roland Berger at the time, and there he met Julius Köhler and Nicolaus Schefenacker, who later joined the company to build the business model.
The very first product was coach parcel shipping. By the time Eurotransport profiled the company, it was running full truckloads, had 12 permanent staff, and Nothacker was clearly aiming for Sennder to be Europe’s leading online freight forwarder.
Sennder connects shippers’ loads with vetted carriers via its sennOS platform in order to reduce empty miles and improve transport flows. In 2021, the company reported that its joint venture in Italy with Poste Italiane had reduced Poste’s €100 million annual spend by 6%.
Strategic deals were the key to sennder’s growth. In 2020 they merged with French rival Everoad and acquired Uber Freight’s European business in an all-stock deal. In 2021, they raised $160 million in January and $80 million in June, with Baillie Gifford leading the June round and taking the company’s valuation past the $1 billion mark.
Total funding has now passed $350 million, and sennder is now listed by Tech Funding News as one of Germany’s private startups in the billions.
The biggest deal was Sennder’s acquisition of C.H. Robinson’s European Surface Transportation business, announced in July 2024 and completed in February 2025. sennder said the deal would add over 6,500 shippers and 15,000 carriers, resulting in a combined revenue of €1.4 billion.
Why €155 million of the €228 million is not equity
Freight forwarders have to pay the carriers before they’re paid by the customers, so they need to finance that gap. The €155 million covers that gap, freeing up more equity for growth, technology, and AI. All three sites are active and in use.
“sennder has built a strong position in European road freight, and its move to profitability is the kind of progress we look for in a long-term partner. Our non-recourse factoring line gives sennder dependable access to working capital, and we are glad to support the next stage of its growth,” said Ansgar Kugelstadt, managing director at Coface Finanz.
“Deutsche Bank has partnered with sennder since its foundation, and we are proud to continue supporting the company as it enters its next chapter. Working with ambitious, entrepreneur-led businesses is central to our Global Hausbank strategy and our ambition to be the go-to bank for innovative companies,” noted Milos Spiridonovic, CFA, head of New Economy Coverage at Deutsche Bank.
“With this €40 million venture debt financing, the EIB is backing sennder for a second time as it scales Europe’s leading digital road freight platform. By freeing up capital for technology, AI and network expansion, this financing helps sennder turn data into a more efficient, transparent and lower-emission European logistics system,” added Nicola Beer, EIB vice president.
The €73 million in equity was entirely from existing shareholders. Scania have been a partner with sennder since 2017, and Poste Italiane have managed the Italian JV since 2020. The other investors are Accel, Baillie Gifford, HV, and Lakestar.
Profit on a smaller base and AI agents for competitors
sennder also achieved positive EBITDA under IFRS on an unadjusted monthly basis and expects to remain positive for the full year 2026. The company expects €1 billion in revenue for 2026 and currently handles over 150,000 shipments per month via more than 40,000 vetted carriers.
“Over the past ten years, we have built sennder through innovation and scale. With profitability achieved, we now have the financial flexibility to accelerate our next phase of growth. The €73 million in equity has supported the integration of C.H. Robinson’s European Surface Transportation business, while our new financing facilities free up capital to expand our network, technology platform and AI capabilities,” said Nothacker, co-founder and CEO of sennder.
Opening up sennOS and its AI agents to other forwarders puts sennder in direct competition with the AI-first startups. HappyRobot was valued at $1.2 billion following its $150 million Series C in August 2026, and Cargofy raised $11 million in a Series A in June. On the European side, we have MyDello and Qargo.
Positive monthly EBITDA is of course just the start. If sennder can maintain that for a full year, it will be a real test of whether the quality-over-volume approach actually works and whether shippers will trust one company as both their forwarder and their software provider.
