German venture capital (VC) firm Bertelsmann Investments (BI) has acquired an 80% majority stake in trucking aggregator LetsTransport for an undisclosed amount, with an intent to build and scale the startup as its first India based majority-owned, founder-led operating business.

It has also launched Bertelsmann Next India (BNI), a new platform to build and scale majority-owned, founder-led businesses in the country.

As part of the transaction, LetsTransport will be renamed LetsTransport Group (LTG). The founders will continue to lead day-to-day operations as the company expands its offerings beyond a trucking marketplace into a broader, technology-led logistics platform serving enterprise and mid-market customers. Under this structure, LetsTransport will expand beyond a typical VC holding to become a core operating business within a dedicated “anchor investment” strategy, while founders continue to lead daily operations.

BNI will be headed by Pankaj Makkar, managing director of Bertelsmann India Investments, who will also serve as chairman of LTG’s board. The platform will provide long-term capital, governance support, and access to Bertelsmann’s global network. Over the coming years, BNI plans to add complementary businesses and products within the LTG ecosystem through organic expansion and acquisitions.

LetsTransport Group will also explore collaboration opportunities with other Bertelsmann portfolio companies, including Shiprocket. LTG has entered into an operating agreement to support Shiprocket’s intra-city and mid-mile trucking requirements, while Shiprocket will help LTG expand its part-truckload and warehousing offerings.

Bertelsmann India Investments will continue to operate independently as a sector-agnostic, early-growth-stage venture capital fund and will deploy capital from its recently raised $500 million fund.

Founded in 2015 by Pushkar Singh, Sudarshan Ravi and Ankit Parasher, LetsTransport connects truck drivers and small fleet operators with businesses across India and serves over 100 corporate clients through its digital logistics platform. Before the acquisition, the company had raised a total of $77 million in funding, including $22 million in a Series E round in April 2024 led by Bertelsmann India Investments, and $25 million raised in July 2023.

With about 250,000 truckers registered, Singh claimed LTG to be one of the largest trucking networks across the country. He told Inc42 LetsTransport serves 150 blue-chip clients and a few SMEs, spread across sectors like ecommerce, FMCG, FMCD, automotive, and the like. “The core business today sits at about $150 Mn worth of annual revenue and it’s growing at 50% to 60% YoY, and it is also EBITDA profitable. We would also further invest in businesses that we are incubating,”