Updated on Tuesday, May 7 at 4:05 p.m. CDT to include an additional statement from RailState’s Chief Commercial Officer John Schmitter.
RailState, a company that offers real-time measuring of rail capacity and performance in North America, announced on Tuesday $4 million in new funding to expand its network and bring AI-powered insights to the rail industry.
According to a press release from the company, the $4 million investment was led by a group of private equity and industrial executives with deep experience in information services, SaaS and engineering services. The funds will be used for the strategic expansion of RailState’s network coverage, including along the U.S.-Mexico border, and product investments to provide customers with accurate, real-time rail network information.
Quincy, Massachusetts-headquartered RailState was founded in 2021 by CEO Jamie Heller and Chief Commercial Officer John Schmitter. Since then, the company has built an insights platform providing real-time, actionable intelligence covering all aspects of train movements and rail network performance across all of Canada and parts of the U.S.
“We’re grateful for this strategic support,” Heller said of the funding in the press release. “We’ve been moving quickly expanding our network and empowering rail users with critical AI insights to make better decisions. This funding helps us move even faster. We’re especially excited to be opening a new region of coverage at the US-Mexico border.”
“Cross border rail movements are rapidly growing in importance to the North American supply chain,” Schmitter told FreightWaves. “There is increasing demand and service being added but there is no overall rail network visibility into what’s moving or how the rail network is performing to and from Mexico. Our aim is to change that and provide shippers with the insights needed to operate in a dynamic market.”
Schmitter added that RailState’s ultimate goal is to cover the rail network across North America, including Mexico, with immediate plans to cover and expand the company’s U.S. network.
The broader RailState team is made up of rail industry veterans, AI engineers and leaders from logistics software providers, including former employees of Google and Class 1 railways.
“We could not be more confident in this team and the vision,” said Mike Liik, president of the investor group, in the press release from RailState. “We look for investment opportunities where the team has an unfair advantage. Jamie and John’s deep knowledge of the problem, long-standing relationships in the industry, and unique solution to a big, valuable problem is exactly that advantage.”
RailState’s customers include some of the largest rail shippers in Canada, including Teck Resources Ltd. and Canpotex, among others, as well as government agencies overseeing transportation, including Transport Canada and the Canadian Transportation Agency.
