Motive Secures $1.3 Billion Backing from General Catalyst

Motive Raises $1.3 Billion From General Catalyst and Withdraws IPO Filing

Motive, the fleet and workforce management technology company formerly known as KeepTruckin, has raised more than $1.3 billion in growth financing from General Catalyst and withdrawn its registration for a planned public offering.

The San Francisco-based company said its annual recurring revenue has surpassed $600 million, with growth reaching about 30% year over year. The financing was announced Sept. 9, 2026, the same day Motive withdrew its S-1 registration statement for a planned listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MTVE.

Motive said the new capital will allow it to remain private while investing in product development, artificial intelligence, and sales and support operations. The company said it remains positioned to pursue a public listing in the future.

“With this financing, we’re very well capitalized. We withdrew our previously filed S-1,” co-founder and CEO Shoaib Makani told FreightWaves. “But we remain very well positioned for the public markets in the future.”

Growth financing replaces immediate IPO plans

The financing came from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund. The structure was described as growth capital rather than a traditional priced equity round, and Motive did not disclose a new company valuation.

The company’s last confirmed valuation was $2.85 billion in May 2022. That figure has not been updated publicly in connection with the new financing.

By withdrawing its S-1, Motive is avoiding an immediate transition to the public markets while retaining that option for later. Makani said the financing gives the company resources to continue investing aggressively without the near-term demands of operating as a public company.

General Catalyst managing director Pranav Singhvi joined Motive’s board as part of the transaction.

Motive reported that revenue from customers spending more than $100,000 annually grew nearly 60% year over year. Net revenue retention among those customers exceeded 120%, meaning the company generated more revenue from its existing large accounts after accounting for expansions, reductions, and cancellations.

A broad customer base across commercial operations

Motive serves nearly 100,000 customers, ranging from small fleets to Fortune 500 companies. Its customer base extends beyond trucking into construction, energy, field service, manufacturing, agriculture, and other industries that rely on vehicles and workers operating in the field.

For trucking companies, Motive’s platform includes tools for fleet management, driver safety, compliance, vehicle monitoring, maintenance, and operations. The company said more than one million commercial vehicles are on its platform.

Makani estimated that represents about 3% of the roughly 30 million commercial vehicles in North America, although that figure includes the broader commercial vehicle market rather than only the trucking segment. The company views the remaining market as an opportunity to expand its customer base and product reach.

The additional financing also comes as Motive expands its sales, customer support, and service teams. Earlier in 2026, the company named Thomas Hansen as its first president of go-to-market. Hansen previously held leadership roles at Amplitude, UiPath, Dropbox, and Microsoft.

More investment in AI and fleet operations

Motive said it plans to use the capital to develop its artificial intelligence platform and expand products aimed at physical operations. The company has offered AI-enabled cameras since 2017 that can identify behaviors such as cellphone use, driver fatigue, and following too closely.

Those systems are intended to help fleets identify risks before they result in collisions, violations, or equipment losses. Motive said fewer than 20% of commercial vehicles currently use such camera systems, leaving room for further adoption.

The company also recently launched Maintenance and Operations Intelligence, a product designed to connect information from vehicles, drivers, and fleet operations. Motive said future AI tools could do more than display alerts on a dashboard by helping customers respond to problems.

According to Makani, those tools could help remove a driver from service after a high-risk pattern is detected, schedule maintenance when a vehicle defect appears, or identify possible fuel-card fraud. The company’s stated goal is to use AI to reduce collisions, avoid downtime, and limit manual administrative work.

For drivers and fleet personnel, the practical impact will depend on how these systems are implemented. Safety alerts, maintenance notifications, and other automated interventions can help identify problems earlier, but they also add another layer of technology to the daily work of operating and managing commercial vehicles.

What the financing means for Motive

Motive’s decision reflects a choice to continue expanding privately after reporting stronger financial results. Crossing $600 million in annual recurring revenue, combined with 30% year-over-year growth and continued expansion among large customers, gives the company additional capital to build its platform without immediately relying on public investors.

The company has not abandoned the possibility of an IPO. Instead, Motive said it can revisit a public listing after continuing to develop its products, expand its customer base, and invest in its AI and field operations businesses.

For the trucking industry, the move signals that fleet technology companies continue to see opportunities in combining telematics, video safety systems, maintenance data, and artificial intelligence. Motive’s next phase will focus on expanding those tools across a customer base that includes fleets of many sizes and a wide range of commercial operations.