Melrose announced $3.5 million seed round

Melrose expands freight tech capabilities with $3.5M in new Seed funding
Abstract Ventures and Blank Ventures lead the round as Melrose accelerates real-time data sharing and customizable workflows for shippers, carriers, and forwarders
SAN FRANCISCO—January 24, 2025—Melrose, a powerful and fast growing freight technology company focused on seamless data exchange and flexible workflows, today announced it has raised $3.5 million in Seed funding. The round was led by Abstract Ventures, with participation from Blank Ventures, 640 Oxford, Exceptional Capital, and industry leaders from the Ports of Charleston and Savannah, Uber, and Flexport.
Melrose will use the new capital to:
Enhance its core platform so freight forwarders, shippers and ocean and trucking carriers can better integrate, share live data and adapt to macro supply chain shifts.
Double down on hiring, growing the team to support product development, engineering, and customer success.
Expand geographically, moving beyond its West Coast footprint into Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
“Freight markets change quickly, whether it’s because of tariffs, labor strikes, or geopolitical events,” said Dhaman Rakhra, CEO of Melrose. “Our platform empowers customers to share accurate information in real time, set up workflows that match their needs or unique operating procedures, and pivot quickly when conditions shift. This new funding will help us serve more customers who want a straightforward way to adjust to new market realities.”
Bringing flexible workflows to the freight industry
Melrose’s software connects systems that rarely communicate, so carriers, forwarders, and BCOs can:
Speed up customer onboarding, allowing partners to sync data within days of winning business, without lengthy integration timelines.
Customize operational workflows with AI, down to unique quoting, scheduling and milestone updates for each route, customer, SKU and region—reducing the need for repetitive manual tasks.
Get immediate updates in their own systems, eliminating third-party portals, duplicate data entry, shifting their workflows or adopting another interface.
“Melrose’s approach is simple: enable real-time data flow so freight operators can focus on moving goods efficiently,” said Khalid Karim, CTO of Melrose. “When your data is clean and workflows are set up the right way, you can spot delays faster, keep customers informed, and solve problems before they escalate.”
Rapid growth and industry traction
Since launching in February 2024, Melrose has:
Signed over a dozen carriers across the U.S.
Grown annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 13x.
Processed tens of thousands of orders through its platform.
Expanded into new regions beyond California, Washington, and New York.
With global supply chains facing challenges—such as port disputes, climate events, and shifting trade policies—Melrose aims to help businesses adapt by minimizing the time lost between data capture and decisive action.
Melrose was founded by two long time friends and logistics technology experts — Dhaman Rakhra, one of the first 100 employees at Flexport, and Khalid Karim, an early engineering hire on Uber’s Experimentation team. The company is dedicated to connecting nodes across the supply chain to empower the entire ecosystem.
To learn more, visit www.getmelrose.com.