• Saudi Arabia-based freight and logistics startup Shuttle has closed a SAR3.75 million ($1 million) Bridge to Seed round led by Impact46 with participation from regional investors.
• Founded in 2020 by Mohammed Alhassan, Shuttle provides its clients with a LaaS (Locker as a Service), where they can benefit from the smart locker tool for items to be safely stored, exchanged by different parties and backed by a software component that allows interaction to happen automatically.
• The recent funding round will help Shuttle improve its IoT infrastructure and cover more areas inside the kingdom.

Press release:

Shuttle, the digital logistics/ smart locker platform utilising IoT to optimise the logistic operation cycle by offering self-service lockers as the pick-up and drop-off points for packages, announced the closing of a SAR3.75 million ($1 million) Bridge to Seed round led by Impact46 with participation from strategic investors in the region. 

Shuttle was introduced in 2020 by Mohammed Alhassan, upgrading the traditional locker experience with a smart locker driven by leading-edge technology enhancing the logistics space as a whole. Smart locker is a tool for items to be safely stored, exchanged by different parties & backed by a software component that allows interaction to happen automatically. Through Shuttle’s software and its smart locker, end-users can authenticate, pay & receive packages with a fully automated process. 

Mohammed Alhassan, Founder of Shuttle Added: “LaaS (Locker as a Service) will be a game-changer in the e-commerce & digital logistics space as its the optimal solution for the business and the end-user. We are grateful to our clients and partners' trust for our unique IP & LaaS, this fund will further help us to improve & IoT infrastructure as well as cover more areas upon our partnerships requests.”

Shuttles’ smart locker is a unique approach to be adopted as it solves three major pain points: first delivery failures, re-scheduling deliveries, and the uncertainty to collect the package within a timeframe. With this solution, the courier can deliver multiple packages in one place, limiting the door-to-door delivery approach, and it’s a win to the customer as it cuts the delivery costs.

Shuttle currently has 90 lockers distributed across 9 main cities including Riyadh, Jeddah & Dammam, and soon to cover Saudi. The lockers are placed in +80 facilities utilizing LaaS “Locker as a service” model across hotels, commercial buildings & petrol stations serving more than 300 customers in multiple industries such as the laundry sector, auto safe storage services in malls, and car rental for key handling.

The locker placements can bring value to the facilities by directing individuals to visit the place in order to pick up the order. LaaS “Locker as a service” is a smart way to be adopted, as it brings benefits to all parties involved in its use and it is set to achieve more within the logistics cycle.

“With the rapid growth of the eCommerce industry, last-mile delivery solutions are crucial to support this industry's potential. The LaaS solution that Shuttle provides solves many pain points for last-mile including: failed deliveries, returns, and delivery prices. Shuttle's team led by Mohammed Alhassan demonstrates a comprehensive knowledge and know-how in this space that we believe will make smart lockers part of our everyday life as consumers.” Mohammed Alnasyan from Impact46 commented on the investment.