Ryder Establishes Silicon Valley-Based Technology Lab Led by Founders of Start-Up Baton

By: Ryder System, Inc. via Business Wire

August 01, 2023 at 09:00 AM EDT

Team Aims to Transform Transportation and Supply Chain Networks; Prepare for Coming AI Wave

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R), a leader in supply chain, dedicated transportation, and fleet management solutions, announces the establishment of Baton, A Ryder Technology Lab, based in Silicon Valley. Baton’s mission is to pioneer a suite of groundbreaking customer-facing technologies designed to revolutionize how Ryder’s customers interact with their transportation and supply chain networks. These technologies will digitize and optimize networks at a level not currently available in the industry and will prepare Ryder for the coming artificial intelligence (AI) wave.

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(Graphic: Business Wire)

“The establishment of a Silicon Valley-based technology lab is a natural evolution for Ryder, as we build on the $1.3 billion in strategic investments we’ve made over the past five years to develop, acquire, and invest in innovative technologies, products, and services that help make our customers’ logistics networks more efficient and resilient,” says Karen Jones, CMO and head of new product development for Ryder. “To build on that success, it’s paramount we continue to invest in recruiting the brightest technology minds out there and provide them with a startup environment where they have the space and freedom to create, along with the resources of a $12 billion company.”

Leading Ryder’s innovation lab are Andrew Berberick and Nate Robert, co-chief product and technology officers for Ryder. The two founded San Francisco-based startup Baton, which was known for the development of a proprietary logistics technology focused on optimizing transportation networks. Ryder initially invested in Baton’s Series A funding round and then acquired the startup last year.

“What piqued our interest in Ryder then, and what keeps us excited today, is the fact that it’s the only fully integrated port-to-door logistics provider in North America managing the complex supply chains of many of the world’s biggest and best-known brands. That gives Ryder tremendous perspective and reach, and as engineers, it provides us with the unique opportunity to tackle some of the largest and most daunting problems in the industry today, while preparing Ryder and its customers for the coming AI wave,” says Berberick.

Baton’s first challenge is to create a first-of-its-kind, AI-powered digital platform and optimization engine that facilitates a new, integrated approach to managing transportation networks for customers where seasonality and fluctuating demand inhibit the continuous use of resources.

“There is a massive amount of waste when supply chains do not communicate. We believe we can change that and bring deep transformation to an entire sector,” says Robert. “That’s why we’re now actively recruiting talented technologists from some of Silicon Valley’s most respected technology firms to help solve some of the most complex problems plaguing the nearly $2.5 trillion North American transportation and logistics industry. We’re looking for engineers excited by the challenge and who want the autonomy and nimbleness of a startup environment but with the power, reach, and stability of a highly respected industry titan.”

Berberick holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Stanford University and worked for Google, Accenture, and Mindtribe; Robert holds a bachelor’s degree from MIT and master’s degree from Stanford University and worked for BuildZoom and Bain & Company, prior to cofounding Baton. Other key members of the Baton technology lab bring experience from Apple, Meta, OpenAI, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Tesla, Loadsmart, Kinema Systems (acquired by Boston Dynamics), PlayStation, Zynga, and LinkedIn.

For more information about Baton, A Ryder Technology Lab, including careers, visit baton.io.

About Baton, A Ryder Technology Lab

Baton, A Ryder Technology Lab, is based in San Francisco, California and is run by Andrew Berberick and Nate Robert, both chief technology and chief product officers whose startup was acquired by Ryder in 2022. Baton’s engineering team is led by Ryan Houlihan, who was previously amongst the NASA engineers responsible for the success of the Mars Rover. The innovation lab’s head of operations Erik Malin formerly ran operations for a $1.3 billion freight tech company. Baton’s engineers are at the forefront of innovation, pioneering new technology – including AI – to transform and bring efficiency to every aspect of the supply chain. Berberick and Robert’s Baton startup placed fourth in FreightWaves’ prestigious 2022 FreightTech25, which honors innovation and disruption within the freight industry. It was selected out of hundreds of companies by an external peer group of CEOs, industry leaders, academics and freight-industry investors. The significance of this award comes from the fact that Baton was only beaten by Amazon Freight and two other companies, while it was ranked ahead of both Uber Freight and Tesla. For more information, please see baton.io.

About Ryder System, Inc.

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) is a leading logistics and transportation company. It provides supply chain, dedicated transportation, and fleet management solutions, including warehousing and distribution, e-commerce fulfillment, last-mile delivery, managed transportation, professional drivers, freight brokerage, full-service leasing, maintenance, commercial truck rental, and used vehicle sales to some of the world’s most-recognized brands. Ryder provides services throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. In addition, Ryder manages nearly 260,000 commercial vehicles and operates approximately 300 warehouses encompassing more than 95 million square feet. Ryder is regularly recognized for its industry-leading practices in third-party logistics, technology-driven innovations, commercial vehicle maintenance, environmental stewardship, corporate social responsibility, world-class safety and security programs, military veteran recruitment initiatives, and the hiring of a diverse workforce. For more information, please see www.ryder.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements and information included in this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, including our expectations with respect to expanding our supply chain solutions business and the capabilities of current and future technologies such as artificial intelligence (“AI”), are based on our current plans and expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements should be evaluated with consideration given to the many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including those risks set forth in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors or to assess the impact of such risks on our business. Accordingly, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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