Forto (Down Round & Layoffs)
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
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Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Forto is a Berlin-based digital freight forwarder digitizing container logistics, focused on air and sea freight. Founded in 2016 as Freighthub by Michael Wax, it raised around 500 million euros from investors including SoftBank and Northzone, hit a $2.1 billion valuation in 2022, and served major clients such as Edeka, Zalando and Obi.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
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03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded
Michael Wax founds Freighthub in Berlin to digitize freight forwarding.
- Peak valuation
Forto reaches a $2.1 billion valuation, then begins layoffs as the logistics market turns.
- Layoffs
Forto conducts a further round of layoffs amid the freight downturn.
- CEO change and more cuts
Co-founder Michael Wax resigns as CEO in February 2025, replaced by former CFO Guillaume Petit-Perrin; in April 2025 the company cuts about 200 jobs, a third of its workforce.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.