Lighthouz AI

What do they actually do

Lighthouz AI builds a freight-focused AP/AR automation system that sits on top of a broker/3PL’s existing inbox, TMS and accounting tools. It ingests post‑delivery paperwork (carrier bills, PODs, BOLs), extracts and verifies the data against rate confirmations, auto-approves clean bills, and routes only true exceptions to humans. The product is live with brokers/3PLs, with public references like NAD Logistics and posts naming ATS Logistics among early users lighthouz.ai, YC launch, NAD case.

The typical workflow is: ingest documents from email/portals; extract structured fields (rates, accessorials, signatures, remit-to); verify against quotes/rate confirmations with freight-native checks (duplicates, invalid accessorials, missing PODs); auto-create and submit AR invoices (with reminders/collections) and flag or resolve AP disputes; then post validated entries back to the TMS/ERP with an audit trail so ledgers and payouts proceed without re-keying lighthouz.ai, YC launch.

Customers and the company report faster invoicing (often within 24 hours of delivery vs. 3–5 days), several days faster payments, and 4–5x more volume per AP person; a public NAD case cites average time-to-invoice improving from 2.11 days to 0.47 days YC launch, NAD case.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Small and mid-sized freight brokers: They’re swamped after deliveries with emailed carrier bills, PODs and scanned BOLs that must be read, re‑keyed and approved, slowing invoicing and consuming a small accounting team’s time. Lighthouz turns messy inbox paperwork into structured invoices and exception tasks so they can invoice faster without hiring proportionally lighthouz.ai, YC launch.
• Larger 3PLs and high-volume brokers: They need consistent audit trails, fast posting into TMS/ERP systems and low error rates because small mistakes cascade across many shipments and can violate SLAs. Lighthouz focuses on automated extraction, validation and posting to avoid re‑keying and keep ledgers/payouts accurate lighthouz.ai, YC launch.
• Factoring companies and invoice buyers: They lose time and take risk manually verifying rates, signatures and PODs before funding, which slows decisions and increases disputes. Lighthouz is building freight‑specific agent automations (rate confirmations, assignment notices, payment checks) to speed verification and reduce back‑and‑forth YouTube demo, lighthouz.ai.
• AP/AR specialists inside brokers/3PLs: They spend hours parsing rotated scans, handwriting and multi‑page PDFs, handling duplicates and chasing missing PODs instead of resolving real disputes. Reported results include much faster time‑to‑invoice and big per‑person throughput gains when the routine work is automated NAD case, lighthouz.ai.
• TMS/ERP owners and finance ops leads: They deal with brittle integrations, reconciliation headaches and audit risk when tools don’t post clean, traceable entries. Lighthouz emphasizes connectors and auditable posting so reconciliation is automatic and compliance can be maintained lighthouz.ai, YC launch.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Run founder-led pilots via warm intros (YC/network). Offer a 6–8 week pilot where Lighthouz engineers wire up inbox/TMS and tune extraction/validation so the customer sees faster invoicing and throughput gains quickly lighthouz.ai, YC launch, NAD case.
• First 50: Productize common onboarding (email/portal ingestion + top TMS/ERP connectors), stand up a small sales/implementation team to run 2–4 concurrent paid pilots, and use early case studies to fuel targeted outbound to SMB/mid brokers and factoring firms. Demos of agent-driven rate confirmations/factoring workflows help shorten cycles YouTube demo, lighthouz.ai.
• First 100: Scale through certified integrations and channels (major TMS/ERP/factoring platforms), launch a partner/referral program, and open limited self‑serve with templates for smaller buyers. Support larger 3PLs with productized SLAs, audit trails and an agent API for custom workflows eval docs, lighthouz.ai.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Initial TAM is vertical workflow automation for freight brokers/3PLs and factoring verification—software that ingests, verifies and posts shipment billing data and automates routine AP/AR communications. This is a niche within logistics software focused on post‑delivery back‑office workflows rather than planning or payments networks.

Bottom-up calculation:

Assume 12,000 small/mid brokers at $8–15k ARR, 1,500 large brokers/3PLs at $40–120k ARR, and 400 factoring companies at $25–60k ARR. Using midpoints, TAM ≈ (12,000×$11.5k) + (1,500×$80k) + (400×$42.5k) ≈ $138M + $120M + $17M ≈ $275M; range roughly $200M–$600M depending on ACV and coverage.

Assumptions:

• Account counts reflect targetable firms in the US/Canada and selected international markets; figures are approximations, not registry totals.
• Pricing modeled as SaaS tied to shipment volume and workflow scope (AP, AR, factoring verifications) without payments take‑rate or adjacent modules.
• Excludes shippers/carriers and broader finance ops use cases; including those or international expansion would increase TAM.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Loop: Logistics-focused AP/AR automation that digitizes carrier bills, runs freight audits and surfaces exceptions; positioned as an end‑to‑end freight audit/pay product for shippers and 3PLs.
• Pando.ai: AI‑first freight audit & payment platform that automates rate validation, matching and payment workflows; overlaps on invoice validation and analytics, with broader focus on procurement and payments.
• PayCargo: Payments and invoice workflow network for freight forwarders and carriers (portal/API for submitting invoices and moving funds); competes on AR/AP automation and faster settlement, with a core in payments rails.
• Billtrust (Transportation): General AR automation vendor with a transportation vertical covering invoicing, collections and cash application; broader finance automation rather than freight‑native agent orchestration.
• Trimble (Freight Audit & Payment): Incumbent freight audit & payment software with deep TMS integrations and analytics for large shippers/3PLs; strong on enterprise scale and reconciliation versus inbox‑level agent automation.