The funding round was led by Emerge Capital and attracted participation from logistics executives and angel investors with backgrounds at DHL, DSV, GEODIS, Maersk, and CEVA Logistics. The company will use the fresh capital to expand its AI platform, strengthen its engineering and commercial teams, and accelerate its expansion across the European logistics market.

Funding to Accelerate AI Adoption in Logistics

The investment comes at a time when freight forwarders are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence to automate labour-intensive processes and improve operational efficiency. As global supply chains become more complex, logistics companies are looking for AI solutions that can reduce manual workloads while enhancing speed and accuracy.

With the new funding, 5U AI plans to further develop its platform, expand multilingual capabilities, and support more logistics providers across Europe.

AI Workers for Freight Forwarders

Founded in 2025 by graduates of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), 5U AI develops AI-powered digital workers designed specifically for freight forwarders, carriers, and third-party logistics (3PL) providers.

Rather than replacing existing transport management systems, the platform integrates with current workflows to automate repetitive operational tasks, including quotation management, shipment bookings, cargo tracking, document processing, invoice reconciliation, and customer communications.

By taking over routine administrative work, the AI Workers enable logistics professionals to focus on customer relationships, operational planning, and business growth.

Transparent Decision-Making

A key differentiator of the platform is its proprietary Context Layer, which records how AI agents make operational decisions. This creates a transparent audit trail, allowing companies to review every action performed by the AI while preserving valuable operational knowledge.

According to the company, this approach transforms AI from a simple assistant into a digital workforce capable of executing complete logistics workflows with traceable decision-making.

Expanding Across Europe

The company is already working with logistics providers across Europe, including TCI International Logistics, where its AI Workers are supporting air and ocean freight operations.

Following the investment, 5U AI plans to expand its product, engineering, sales, and customer success teams while increasing its presence in key European logistics markets.

Growing Investor Interest in Logistics AI

The successful funding round highlights growing investor confidence in specialised AI solutions for the logistics industry, where many operational processes continue to rely on emails, spreadsheets, and manual data entry.

As freight forwarders seek greater efficiency and scalability, startups like 5U AI are attracting increasing attention by delivering automation that complements human expertise rather than replacing it.

With fresh funding and strong backing from experienced logistics investors, the Munich-based startup aims to help freight companies modernise operations and build more efficient, data-driven supply chains.

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