Graypool, an Atlanta company formerly known as HOPTEK, has raised a $5 million pre-seed round led by trucking carrier Werner Enterprises of Omaha, Hypepotamus reported on October 21. Kearney of Chicago, LPX Partners of Singapore, Venture 53 of Atlanta and Jerk Ventures, an investor in supply chain technology, also participated.
The company builds AI software that helps asset-based trucking carriers earn more from each truck. The platform targets freight that falls between contract and spot loads, a segment carriers often leave unpriced or unassigned. Werner is the anchor customer and runs more than $1 million of freight through the platform each week. According to CEO Marc Held, the AI system handles about 90 percent of freight decisions on Werner's loads.
Graypool has 30 employees, seven of them in the Atlanta area. Held has led the company since February 2026. His earlier ventures include ODYN, which Turvo acquired, Weft, which Genscape acquired, and Greenscreens, which Triumph Financial acquired. He also founded Fishtail, a cross-border trade finance company focused on the United States and Mexico.
The round pairs a Georgia startup with a publicly traded national carrier, with Werner running the product on live freight. Hypepotamus did not disclose a valuation or the exact size of each investor's stake in the round.
Source: Hypepotamus - https://www.hypepotamus.com/new-name-new-funding-atlantas-graypool-targets-truckings-missed-revenue/