Founded in 2021 to help companies improve their shipping supply chains and reduce costs through a tech-enabled network of shippers, carriers, and warehouses, Warp, as of 2025, has a new vision: making supply chains even more efficient by automating its web of warehouses with robots.
In the words of Daniel Sokolovsky, the co-founder and CEO of Warp, the start-up is always looking for ways to make shipping more efficient for its customers, which include large businesses like Walmart, Gopuff, and HelloFresh. As artificial intelligence (AI) has become the new norm in the 21st-century world economy, the company now believes there are opportunities through which supply chains can be further automated.
Sokolovsky told TechCrunch that while Warp can’t automate long-haul trucking or short-range delivery aspects of the supply chain, it focuses on what it can change: the workflows inside its warehouses.
Engineering Logistics At Scale
Warp started its journey by installing cameras in its test warehouse in Los Angeles, using computer vision to convert that data into a virtual warehouse for experimentation.
“We effectively made a digital twin, or simulation environment, for our LA facility. \[We] basically started just throwing stuff at the wall. Honestly, a lot of it was, ‘What happens if we do this? What happens if we do that? What happens if we do that other thing?’” Sokolovsky said.
One of the start-up’s first ideas was to train humanoid robots to use traditional pallet jacks, but it didn’t work. Then, Warp started to find success using off-the-shelf robots with additional tech retrofitted onto them.
“We’ve taken really, really complicated logistics problems, divided them into a lot of easily digestible, system-understood, and system-fed components. We are now using, whether it’s AI in the form of voice, text, email, phone calls, or robotics, \[to ensure] that we’re unloading, storing, and reloading freight. We actually think that we can continue this and really reach our goals as quickly as possible, without hiring more people,” Sokolovsky added.
Warp’s co-founder and CRO (Chief Revenue Officer), Troy Lester, said that these robots will help support Warp’s underlying warehouse partners (other than its Los Angeles test facility). The start-up doesn’t outright own the warehouses in its network, a move that helps reduce labour costs.
“They’re complaining to us about staffing issues all the time. The labour that’s doing the work in these facilities isn’t happy either. So, I think there is an opportunity to empower those businesses to have these robotic kits that would not only help make our network better but also improve their business with other companies,” Lester said.
Warp has raised USD 10 million in its latest Series A round, co-led by Up.Partners and Blue Bear Capital. The start-up is testing several different versions of the robots, with the goal of deploying them by the end of 2025.
The start-up has optimised everything from hyperlocal parcel movement to national freight networks. In doing so, Warp uncovered a massive flaw in the LTL (Less Than Truckload) system, finding that it’s not suitable for modern supply chains, as the mechanism is slow, rigid, and most importantly, blind to the precision today’s shippers demand. To address this, Warp has brought its digital hub-and-spoke network into play, aiming to transform the middle mile and move freight the way it should.
Meet The Solutions
Warp’s LTL solutions allow users to share trucks and cross-dock space, cutting costs without compromising the quality. The start-up consolidates freight with others, maximising efficiency and minimising clients’ transportation costs—all while keeping deliveries fast, reliable, and sustainable.
While conventional LTL methods have drawbacks like class-based pricing, reweighs, rebills, and hidden fees, which make invoices unpredictable and drive up costs, there are also issues such as inefficient transit with multiple touchpoints, long dwell times, and inconsistent routing that lead to delays and missed delivery windows.
Additionally, limited tracking and inconsistent scan data leave shippers in the dark about shipment status. Excessive handling at terminals often increases the risk of damaged or lost freight, while limited vehicle types, lack of temperature-controlled solutions, and inflexible scheduling often fail to meet diverse shipping needs.
Addressing these drawbacks, Warp’s LTL solution optimises smaller shipments into fuller loads, cutting costs and eliminating LTL inefficiencies, in addition to offering per-pallet rates that eliminate class-based pricing, reweighs, or rebills. The solution also provides tailored options for scheduled deliveries, on-demand pickups, and temperature-controlled freight to fit customers’ needs.
Clients can also choose from a range of vehicles, including cargo vans, box trucks with lift gates, drop trailers, and 53-foot temperature-controlled trucks for any load size. Lastly, live updates, scan-in/scan-out tracking, and POD confirmation ensure complete transparency from pickup to delivery.
Launched less than a year ago with 14 core lanes, the LTL network now spans over 500 digitally connected lanes, representing a 3,400%+ increase, as the company aggressively scales its alternative to traditional terminal-based freight.
Next is “Inbound Consolidation,” under which Warp consolidates its clients’ purchase orders and optimises appointment scheduling at the start-up’s digital cross-dock. The integrated process then delivers freight efficiently to the final destination. This solution boosts load efficiency by merging shipments, reducing empty space, while achieving measurable cost savings and speed.
Businesses can optimise their freight flow with consolidated deliveries, cutting administrative tasks while boosting efficiency and transit speed, in addition to cutting transportation costs by uniting shipments into one efficient delivery, lowering freight expenses and fuel consumption. Consolidated shipments reduce hand-offs and errors, ensuring dependable schedules and consistent deliveries.
Through “Pool Distribution,” Warp harnesses shared routes to consolidate similar shipments, reducing costs and transit times while providing real-time visibility and streamlining operations for efficient middle-mile logistics. The start-up’s digital routes optimise delivery speed and precision across all stops, while consolidating shipments via a digital network to reduce costs and improve delivery speed.
Smarter routing also results in fewer trucks on the road, reducing emissions and enhancing efficiency. Finally, smart shipment tracking and data-driven delivery scheduling make the whole solution cutting-edge.
Efficient, Reliable Delivery For Bulky Items
Warp has engineered a home delivery solution for oversized freight that avoids the usual pain points. Since products like saunas, furniture, and treadmills don’t fit into parcel or standard LTL systems, the start-up uses appropriately sized box trucks and cargo vans, routed directly from cross-docks to customers’ homes. This solution is also streamlined, ensuring efficient deliveries with fewer touchpoints and, most importantly, no inflated charges.
By bypassing congested sorting hubs, Warp eliminates bottlenecks and reduces transit times for parcel shipments. Combining real-time tracking, optimised routing, and a versatile fleet, Warp offers a seamless, efficient zone-skipping service for faster and more reliable deliveries.
Also, Warp reportedly helped an apparel retailer save over 27% by using the same trucks and cross-docks for inbound and outbound shipments, cutting costs and ensuring on-time deliveries. Cross-docking and zone-skipping also reduced delivery times by 20%, keeping shelves stocked.