Axe Lands €1.5M to Supercharge Logistics Teams with AI Agents

Dublin, Ireland – May 6th, 2025 – AI startup Axe has raised €1.5 million in pre-seed funding to bring intelligent automation to the logistics industry through autonomous AI agents. The round was led by Pitchdrive, with participation from Accel Scouts, Enterprise Ireland, and notable angels including Colm Long (Google, Tines) and Colm Lyons.

Axe builds AI agents that act as digital teammates for logistics operations. These agents seamlessly handle tasks such as order entry, quoting, scheduling, and phone calls, operating across existing systems to eliminate manual bottlenecks. Axe gives freight brokers and carriers back hours each day by taking over routine tasks—so teams can focus on what drives the business: resolving exceptions, building customer relationships, and growing revenue.

“We’re building AI agents that don’t just save time, they fundamentally change how logistics teams operate,” said McElroy. “This funding helps us accelerate toward a future where teams no longer waste hours on manual admin, and can instead focus on strategy, service, and scale. We're already saving teams over four hours a day and significantly increasing their profitability.”

With logistics representing a $10 trillion industry—and many players still reliant on outdated tools like spreadsheets and email—automation has quickly shifted from a nice-to-have to a mission-critical priority. Global supply chain uncertainty and tighter margins are only accelerating the need for intelligent solutions like Axe.

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Pitchdrive co-founder Koen Christiaens says: “We backed Axe because they’re tackling one of the most painful and outdated workflows in a $10 trillion industry—with a team that knows how to ship fast, build real AI, and sell into logistics. James and Dan have done this before, and they’re building exactly what freight teams have been crying out for: AI agents that actually get things done.”

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A Team Built for Real-World AI

Founded in 2024 by James McElroy (CEO) and Dan Quill (CTO), Axe is led by a team with a proven track record of building and scaling successful tech businesses.

James previously co-founded Gudog, a pet services marketplace that was acquired by Blackstone earlier this year, following Blackstone’s $2.5B acquisition of U.S. rival Rover in 2024. While scaling Gudog’s e-commerce functions, James saw firsthand how reliant freight operators still are on manual processes. He has also held roles at document logistics company Oasis.

Dan studied theoretical physics at The University of St Andrews and UCL and was previously founding CTO at Peblo, which was acquired by Irish unicorn Wayflyer in 2023. He has also held engineering roles at fintech unicorn iwoca.

They’re joined by experienced engineers Chris Dyke and Gary Meehan, whose backgrounds include Wayflyer, Daft, and WhereToAI.com; an AI agent startup founded by Gary and acquired in 2023.

What’s Next

The fresh capital will be used to accelerate product development, scale the engineering and customer success teams, and support expansion into the U.S. market. Axe currently operates out of Dublin and London, with plans to open its first U.S. office later this year.

About Axe

Axe builds AI agents that work like teammates for logistics operators—logging into systems, making calls, sending emails, and coordinating tasks end to end. These agents don’t just automate; they execute full workflows and adapt in real time, cutting through back-office chaos. From booking loads to resolving issues and keeping shipments on track, Axe helps ops teams scale without adding headcount.