Freightos rolls out AI platform as founder showdown looms

Freightos has put more than 300 forwarders onto a new AI-native platform as CEO Pablo Pinillos rejected founder Zvi Schreiber's claim that the company has abandoned growth — with a shareholder showdown set for the 16 December annual general meeting.

The new Freightos for Forwarders platform combines carrier rates, quoting, procurement, booking management and market intelligence, alongside AI agents that convert unstructured customer enquiries into quotations using forwarders' own commercial rules and margins. The company wants to cut quotation turnaround from hours or days to minutes, but declined to project how many additional transactions the launch would generate.

The platform connects with more than 75 carriers and the 7LFreight trucking network, with APIs letting forwarders integrate Freightos capabilities into existing transport management systems and proprietary AI tools. The refreshed interface and live booking functions are already operational for migrated customers; the AI modules and more advanced workflows are rolling out progressively.

What is the dispute actually about?

Dr Schreiber, who founded Freightos in 2012 and resigned from its board in February, accuses the company of trading growth ambitions for profitability. He is campaigning to remove chairman Udo Lange and redirect strategy toward the neutral transaction platform he sees as the principal long-term opportunity.

"For 14 years, Freightos' strategy was to maximise growth, with the transactional platform as the primary long-term opportunity. That's what shareholders invested in," he told The Loadstar.

He argues AI will increasingly commoditise software products, making Freightos's carrier connectivity, transaction infrastructure and marketplace network more valuable. He wants accelerated platform investment and a relaunch of the marketplace for small and medium-sized shippers.

Mr Pinillos rejected the framing of a choice between platform and software. "There is not a real platform-first versus solutions-first idea, because in the end the platform and the solutions reinforce each other," he said. Better software, AI-driven decisions and automation should generate more bookings, producing data that further improves the platform. "Bookings follow."

He described the strategy as three interconnected layers: intelligence, orchestration and network connectivity.

How weak are the numbers?

Second-quarter revenue came in at $7.7m, up just 3% year on year. Platform revenue rose 19% to $2.9m; Solutions revenue fell 4% to $4.8m.

Mr Pinillos defended the profitability push without disowning growth. "Breakeven is not a strategy, and it's not the finish line," he said, describing the target as a commitment made by previous management in 2023, when the cost base had grown too large for near-term economics. Breakeven, he argued, would let Freightos fund growth from its own resources.

Dr Schreiber disputes the claim that faster investment requires fundraising. "Freightos doesn't need to raise money to grow. It already raised the capital for growth: that's exactly why we went public, and what shareholders invested in." He puts the company's net cash at roughly $21m, with no debt. "Without aggressive platform growth, where is the upside for shareholders?" he asked.

Mr Pinillos expects double-digit revenue growth in future, with specific guidance to come separately. Freightos will keep developing shipper products, including the enterprise Procure offering and the SME marketplace, though he gave no timetable for a comparable AI-native launch there.

Why is the AGM vote contested?

Dr Schreiber is seeking Lange's removal, annual director elections and an advisory resolution advocating strategy changes at the 16 December AGM. He alleges "blatant vote rigging": the company's proxy card omits his Proposal 4, and the proxy statement confirms that shareholders submitting instructions on other resolutions will have their shares voted against it.

"A shareholder who votes through their broker to remove the chairman, or simply to reappoint EY as auditors, will be recorded as voting against growth," he said.

Freightos said the decision followed legal advice, with the board arguing the resolution was inconsistent with shareholders' rights under applicable law and the company's articles — objecting to its abstract wording and its mixing of chairman-qualification and strategy questions. Mr Pinillos said shareholders wanting to back the resolution must attend the AGM, possibly online: "It could be online or could be physically," adding the company had not yet defined attendance for the meeting.

He defended the staggered board structure as providing continuity, saying annual elections risked destabilising long-term strategy. On management departures, he acknowledged parts of the organisation, including management, needed rebuilding, but declined to engage with the founder's criticism: "I don't have anything more than respect for what he has built in this company. I'm not focused on who is right or who is wrong. What I'm not willing to spend a single second of my time on is debating someone else's opinions."

Whether the integrated AI approach can deliver the growth both sides say they want — without the leadership change the founder demands — is the question the 16 December vote will help answer.