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Former Manchester City captain raises $42M to fix Britain's broken delivery system with AI and electric trucks. Her startup Hived claims 99% on-time delivery while legacy carriers struggle with outdated technology built for letters, not e-commerce.
💡 TL;DR - The 30 Seconds Version
👉 London delivery startup Hived raises $42 million Series B led by NordicNinja to expand AI-powered electric delivery across Britain.
📊 Company delivered 6.5 million parcels with 99% on-time rate for John Lewis, Nespresso, and Zara since launching in 2021.
🏭 Expansion starts September 2025 in southern England, targeting 80% UK coverage within two years using all-electric fleet.
⚡ HIVEDmind AI tracks real-time delivery conditions, cutting customer inquiries by 90% and achieving 10x better lost-package rates.
🏆 Former Manchester City youth captain Murvah Iqbal founded company after recognizing legacy carriers use outdated technology.
🚀 Success proves building delivery systems from scratch beats trying to modernize old infrastructure designed for letters.
Hived raised $42 million in Series B funding to expand its all-electric parcel delivery network across Britain. The London startup, led by former Manchester City youth captain Murvah Iqbal, plans to cover 80% of the UK within two years.
The company uses AI to solve what it calls "WISMO" - Where Is My Order anxiety. Its HIVEDmind platform tracks parcels in real-time and optimizes routes based on actual neighborhood conditions, not just maps. Hived knows which courtyards cause delays and where drivers should park.
Since 2021, Hived delivered 6.5 million parcels for John Lewis, Nespresso, Uniqlo, and Zara with a 99% on-time rate. The company claims its lost-package rate beats industry standards by more than 10 times.
NordicNinja led the round, with investors including Wex Venture Capital and Yamato Holdings. Hived operates entirely on electric vehicles and built its system specifically for e-commerce, unlike legacy carriers designed for letters and business deliveries.
The funding provides a clear path to profitability, Iqbal says. Expansion starts in southern England this September, then moves to Birmingham and Manchester next year.
Why this matters:
Q: How does Hived's AI actually make deliveries better?
A: HIVEDmind tracks how long deliveries take in each neighborhood and spots problem areas like gated buildings or narrow courtyards. It tells drivers exactly where to park and how to pack their vans. The system updates routes in real-time based on traffic and delivery volumes, not just GPS maps.
Q: What cities will Hived expand to first?
A: Starting September 2025, Hived will launch in Bristol, Bath, and Brighton. Birmingham and Manchester follow in the second half of 2026. The company picks southern cities first because they're closer to London operations, making expansion more cost-effective.
Q: How does an all-electric delivery fleet actually work?
A: Hived uses Mercedes eActros 600 electric trucks for warehouse-to-hub transport, then electric vans for final delivery. The company built its own charging infrastructure and route planning around battery ranges. They started with bikes in 2021 before scaling to electric trucks.
Q: Why is their delivery success rate so much higher than competitors?
A: Hived built its system specifically for online shopping, while big carriers use technology designed for letters and business deliveries. Their real-time tracking cuts customer "where's my order" calls by 90%. They lose only 1-2 packages per 10,000 versus much higher industry rates.
Q: How did a soccer player end up running a delivery company?
A: Murvah Iqbal captained Manchester City's youth team for seven years before becoming an entrepreneur. She co-founded Hived in 2021 with CTO Mathias Krieger. The company now employs over 120 people, with 20% of staff starting as delivery drivers.
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