Airspace

	Airspace
Tagline	Time-critical shipping made smarter with AI-powered routing, dispatching, and real-time insights. [Airspace]
Headquarters	Carlsbad, CA, USA [Airspace]
Founded	2016 [Crunchbase, 2026]
Stage	Series D+ [Crunchbase, 2026]
Business Model	B2B
Industry	Logistics / Supply Chain
Technology	AI / Machine Learning
Geography	Global / Remote-First
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Funding Label	$50M+ (total disclosed ~$70,000,000) [Airspace]

Links

• Website: https://www.airspace.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airspace-technologies/
• X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/airspaceinc

Summary and Signal

Airspace is a logistics technology company that has carved out a defensible position by applying AI to the high-stakes, high-value niche of time-critical shipping, a focus that has secured it $70 million in a recent Series D round [Airspace]. Founded in 2016, the company has evolved from a specialized courier into a technology-driven platform that orchestrates thousands of daily shipments for industries where delays are not an option, including healthcare, aerospace, and life sciences [Airspace]. Its core offering, the Critical Mile Platform, uses proprietary routing and machine learning to evaluate millions of options in under a second, promising not just speed but also a claimed 99% controllable on-time delivery rate [Airspace]. The founding team, led by Nick Bulcao and Ryan Rusnak, brings a combined background in logistics and technology that underpins the company's operational and technical execution [Qualcomm Ventures, 2026]. The business model is B2B, with revenue generated from a suite of expedited shipping services, and the latest capital is earmarked for global expansion and further development of sustainability features like its Green routing option [Airspace]. Over the next 12-18 months, the key watchpoints will be the scalability of its patented technology into the newly launched Time-Critical Freight segment and the translation of its self-reported operational efficiency metrics into sustained, audited financial performance. Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core company facts are confirmed by its website and a founder interview, but key financial and traction metrics are self-reported.

Company Overview

Airspace was founded in 2016, a period when logistics technology was beginning to shift from static routing to dynamic, data-driven systems. The company is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and operates with a global, remote-first team, a structure that supports its international service footprint [Airspace]. Its initial public milestone appears to be the development of its proprietary Critical Mile Platform, an AI and machine learning solution for evaluating optimal routes for time-critical shipments, which was in market by March 2021 [Airspace, Mar 2021]. A significant brand and service expansion followed in April 2021, marked by a website relaunch and a broadening of the industries it served [BusinessWire, 2021]. The company secured a $38 million Series C round led by Telstra Ventures later that year, capital earmarked for scaling its platform [PR Newswire, 2021]. Its most recent and largest disclosed funding event was a $70 million Series D round in May 2022, led by DBL Partners, which the company stated would fuel global expansion and sustainability initiatives, including the launch of its Green routing feature [Airspace]. Subsequent product launches have included Time-Critical Freight with instant quoting, extending its service to packages of any size [Airspace]. Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Founding year and headquarters confirmed by company website and Crunchbase; funding rounds and dates corroborated by multiple press releases.

The Product and the Stack

The company’s platform is built around a single, high-stakes proposition: routing time-critical shipments with a level of precision and reliability that traditional logistics cannot match. At its core is the Critical Mile Platform, an AI and machine learning system that evaluates millions of routing options in under a second to recommend optimal paths based on cost, speed, and customer preference [Airspace, Mar 2021]. This engine powers a suite of specialized services, each tailored to different urgency and cargo profiles. The flagship Next Flight Out (NFO) service uses patented routing and auto-booking technology to select and secure flights, with a stated focus on proactive delay resolution [Airspace]. For ground transport, an AI-routed on-demand service performs the same high-speed optimization.

The product surface has expanded in two notable directions. First, the company launched Time-Critical Freight with instant quoting, explicitly extending its value proposition to handle "any size" of critical package [Airspace]. Second, it introduced a Green routing feature, allowing customers to select carrier partners based on their carbon footprint, a capability the company says has been available since 2022. The platform’s operational dashboard provides what the company claims is exceptional visibility, tracking over 16,000 data touchpoints per shipment to drive what it calls controllable on-time delivery [Airspace]. Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product claims are sourced directly from the company website and a 2021 award announcement; the carbon-footprint selector is corroborated by a secondary source.

The Market They Are Entering

The urgency of moving critical goods reliably has created a durable, high-value niche within the broader logistics sector, one that is increasingly defined by data rather than just physical assets. Airspace operates in the time-critical logistics market, a segment driven by the need to move high-value, sensitive, or perishable items where delays equate to significant financial loss or operational failure. The global expedited delivery market, an analogous segment, was valued at approximately $91 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% through 2028, according to a Grand View Research report [Grand View Research, 2021].

Metric	Value
Global Expedited Delivery	$91B (2021), CAGR 7.5% (2021-2028)
Primary Verticals Served	Aerospace, Healthcare, Life Sciences, High-Tech, Automotive & Manufacturing
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing is drawn from an analogous third-party report; vertical focus is confirmed by the company's own materials.

The Competitive Field

Airspace operates in a competitive landscape defined by legacy freight forwarders, digital-first logistics platforms, and specialized medical couriers, with its positioning resting on AI-driven optimization for a narrow, high-stakes segment of time-critical shipments. The company's primary competitive arena is the expedited shipping and freight forwarding market. Legacy global freight forwarders like Expeditors, Kuehne+Nagel, and DHL Global Forwarding represent the incumbent layer, offering comprehensive global networks and deep customer relationships but often relying on more manual processes for urgent shipments. Digital challengers, such as Flexport and project44, have built modern software platforms for visibility and booking, though their focus is typically on broader supply chain management. The most direct competitive pressure likely comes from specialized medical and life sciences logistics providers, including companies like Marken (a UPS company) and World Courier. Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive mapping is inferred from industry structure; no direct competitor names are confirmed in public sources.

Opportunity

If Airspace can solidify its position as the operating system for time-critical logistics, the company's potential value approaches that of a category-defining infrastructure provider, scaling with the multi-billion dollar market for expedited shipping in mission-critical industries. The headline opportunity is to become the default, trusted network for any high-stakes shipment where time is a non-negotiable component of cost. The company's focus on a niche defined by extreme consequence, rather than just speed, creates a defensible wedge. Evidence that the model is reaching this scale includes the company's own claim to handle thousands of shipments daily for top companies across aerospace, healthcare, and manufacturing [Airspace]. A $70 million Series D round, led by DBL Partners in May 2022, provides capital to pursue this infrastructure build-out [Airspace]. Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- The core opportunity thesis is built on public company statements and a confirmed funding round.

Sources

1. [Airspace] Airspace - Time-Critical Shipping Made Smarter | https://www.airspace.com/
2. [Crunchbase, 2026] Airspace - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/airspace-technologies
3. [Airspace, Mar 2021] Airspace Named Winner in 2022 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards | https://www.airspace.com/en/news-awards-ai-excellence-awards
4. [BusinessWire, 2021] Airspace Unveils Bold New Brand, Launches Revamped Website as It Expands Industries Served and Time-Critical Logistics Services | https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210416005106/en/Airspace-Unveils-Bold-New-Brand-Launches-Revamped-Website-as-It-Expands-Industries-Served-and-Time-Critical-Logistics-Services
5. [PR Newswire, 2021] Airspace Secures $38 Million in Series C Funding Led by Telstra Ventures | https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/airspace-secures-38-million-in-series-c-funding-led-by-telstra-ventures-301214989.html
6. [Qualcomm Ventures, 2026] Founder Spotlight: Airspace's Nick Bulcao and Ryan Rusnak on Using AI to Transform Logistics | https://www.qualcommventures.com/insights/blog/founder-spotlight-airspaces-nick-bulcao-and-ryan-rusnak-on-transforming-logistics/