Sontra

About Sontra

Sontra Cargo was a web and mobile-based marketplace for the Brazilian trucking industry, designed to connect self-employed truckers with freight loads. The company was founded in 2013, with full operations beginning in May 2014, by Federico Vega (CEO), Bruno Torres, Javier Kreiner, and Dmytro Kormakov. The founding idea emerged in 2012 when the founders, traveling by car across Brazil, noticed a high number of empty trucks on the roads, indicating a market inefficiency in matching cargo with available carriers.

The platform operated as a freight broker, utilizing geo-localization to match available trucks with shipments posted by transportation companies. Truckers could use the application, available on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, to find freight, while carriers could publish their loads to find available trucks. The service was free for truckers and shipping companies, with Sontra Cargo earning a commission on large-volume freights. The platform also aimed to provide truckers with information to assess the profitability of a trip, such as toll and fuel costs, and offered a tracking system.

Federico Vega, an economics graduate with a master's in finance, previously worked at JP Morgan in London before founding Sontra Cargo. The founding team also included Bruno Torres, who had experience at Groupon and iFood; Javier Kreiner, a mathematician with a background in neuroscience research and software development; and Dmytro Kormakov, a computer engineer. The company received a total of R$ 5 million (approximately $2.29M USD) in investment from Valor Capital Group and other executives. By January 2015, the platform had over 60,000 registered users, including truckers and transport companies, and had processed over R$100 million in offered freight value. Despite its initial growth, the company is now listed as deadpooled.