The Brazilian startup Frota 162, specializing in automotive fleet management, has announced a funding round of R$3 million led by ACE Ventures. The funds will be allocated for team expansion, refining their sales machinery to grow tenfold by the end of the year, and optimizing their product.
Founded in 2022, Frota 162 has experienced significant growth, increasing by an average of 15% monthly and doubling its size since the beginning of 2023. The company currently manages over 44,000 vehicles and oversees 10,000 drivers. Among its prominent clients are Armac, Rodonaves, Framento, Lets Locadora, and Kothe.
The startup’s solution addresses the bureaucratic pain points of the sector, successfully reducing fine costs by approximately 40% and cutting down the time spent on fine management, driver restrictions, and other administrative tasks by more than 80%.
Pedro Carneiro, partner and Investment Director at ACE Ventures said:
“What caught our attention about Frota 162 was its rapid ability to gain traction. With just two months in the market, and even without a complete structure, the startup has already started to generate revenue. This shows the acute demand and issues of the market they are embedded in.”
On his part, Marcelo Lemos, CEO of Frota 162, highlighted the market opportunity they saw to differentiate themselves:
“The sector is still not very professionalized, making clients depend on agencies like Detran or dispatch offices. We saw a great opportunity to offer superior usability to tools, such as Excel spreadsheets, while significantly reducing costs and time.”
According to Aspects Software, the customer interaction solutions market was valued at USD $15.52 billion in 2020 and is projected to soar to USD $30.92 billion by 2026. Amid this backdrop, organizations are increasingly adopting SaaS solutions. An organization utilizes 80 SaaS applications on average, marking a significant increase from prior years.
In terms of mobility, according to a study conducted by CAF, the length of paved roads in the region amounts to 528,000 kilometers, with 69% of them being tertiary roads. Primary roads make up only 8% of the total road infrastructure. In terms of infrastructure in relation to GDP per capita, Latin America is on par with lower-middle-income countries, showing a 65% gap compared to the global average. To reach the standards of developed countries, it would be necessary to quintuple the annual investment in land infrastructure. The report suggests focusing efforts on the planning, evaluation, and maintenance of infrastructure projects.
With the new capital, Frota 162 plans to advance in technology and sales and strengthen its customer success and marketing teams, focusing on improving its outbound sales channel.