Company focuses on data-driven cost savings for large vehicle fleets
Sebastián Baquero has a clear idea of how to solve a major cost for the trucking industry: He’s harnessed the power of AI for better tire management. Now, his company, RueData, serves more than 40,000 vehicles and is rapidly scaling.
Baquero, CEO of RueData, also recently announced Chattanooga as the new home of the company’s headquarters. And at last month’s South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, his company secured another round of seed financing to do just that.
“We’re here to help fleets be more efficient,” he explained. “We can save them a lot of downtime by predicting tire blowouts and other big problems. It saves them money, enhances safety for everyone and is also better for the environment.”
The solution, though simple in theory, required the creation of software that can factor in cargo, routes, weather conditions, vehicle type and other factors to better manage the way fleets address tire needs. That, Baquero said, took some time to construct.
How it began
“I used to sell and import tires, so I was already using the software from the tire companies,” Baquero said. “It was really hard to go from idea to product, but I’ve been in this industry my whole life. I just kept talking to clients and focusing on feedback to improve our vision.”
Baquero’s experience in the industry started by selling tires at 21. Even then, he said, he was looking for an industry to understand and invest in.
Tires in particular are a high-cost area for the trucking industry, he said, therefore seemed like a natural place to consider innovative solutions with clear impact. In 2018, RueData was born.
Pieces began to come together a few years later when Baquero was in Las Vegas for a conference and met Tasia Malakasis, CEO of Chattanooga-based nonprofit The Company Lab (CO.LAB). She told him about her newest project: a sustainable mobility accelerator program, perfect for his then-burgeoning company.
“I hadn’t ever even heard of Chattanooga before,” Baquero said with a laugh. “But when I came here I saw there was a lot of support here. I love the community and I see how many groups are working together to make things happen in a lot of ways. It just made sense.”
Through the CO.LAB 12-week accelerator program, which focuses on high-tech and scalable startups, Baquero saw the value of Chattanooga’s location as a hub of support surrounded by some of the region’s largest cities and companies.
Each round of CO.LAB accelerator participants receive $20,000, with potential for an additional $100,000. And, the program also connects founders with mentors and potential investors. All of these opportunities were incredibly impactful and came at the right time, Baquero said.
“RueData’s selection of Chattanooga as its new home base is exactly what we hope to see and speaks to the innovation of each member of each cohort, in addition to the value of the Sustainable Mobility Accelerator Program,” said Malakasis. “Our cohort members are innovative; bringing high-tech, scalable ideas not only to the industry but to our region to experience the unique support system and infrastructure that exists here. Chattanooga is a city that invests in its communities and its businesses, and we hope to see more cohort members make similar investments in our area in the future. It’s a win all around.”
“Chattanooga is a key trucking goods space and also the perfect place for us to grow,” Baquero agreed.
How it’s going
Today, RueData assists fleets for divisions of major companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Heineken. Any fleet with 100 or more vehicles can see benefits, on average within three to six months, from utilizing RueData’s user-friendly technology, Baquero said.
In fact, RueData is so confident in their cost-savings that a return on investment is written into each client contract, including a financial guarantee.
“Most see a 30% decrease in tire costs in just a few months,” he said. And, tire blowouts and flats while on the road decrease at more than double that rate.
“Even we didn’t know the problem was so huge, until the data told us how much this software was helping fleets, and we already knew it was a big problem and a big cost,” he added.
The success Baquero’s company has seen, especially over the past couple of years, means he’s in the hiring process for sales and tech roles. Most hires have been in Chattanooga, he added. A few were in Nashville.
The Columbian-born CEO — who is currently in the process of moving from Mexico City to Chattanooga with his family — said he believes his company’s growth in The Scenic City will also benefit the community that has already supported his vision. CO.LAB’s accelerator and FreightWaves State Of Freight annual event have been two impactful local components that drove his move and his business decision.
“RueData’s harnessing of new technology in a way that benefits a major Chattanooga industry as well as the environment is one-of-a-kind,” Malakasis added. “CO.LAB is thrilled to have played a helping hand.”
Biggest challenges
Despite RueData’s innovation solving a major problem in the trucking industry — two, if you consider tire waste’s impact on the environment — it hasn’t always been easy to get decision-makers on board with Baquero’s cost-saving solution.
“One of the biggest problems and challenges we have is educating people,” he explained. “People in the industry are just so used to accepting this problem and this cost as something they can’t avoid. They treat it like an inventory issue. Fleets are not aware that they can use technology to solve this issue and we have had to work on trust and education.”
Baquero said the software RueData uses was designed to be easy to use, as well as integrate seamlessly with existing routines. All it requires, he said, are minor adjustments with a major return.
“We aren’t changing the ways people manage their tires, we’re just giving them tools to manage those tasks better and predict problems,” he said.
And, while fear of change is understandable, Baquero said he hopes industry leaders won’t let that skepticism hold them back from experiencing the results he is confident are possible with RueData’s software.
“Some people are afraid of change and that may be the biggest challenge,” he said. “But change is happening anyway.”
Environmental impact
According to the Federal Highway Administration, approximately 280 million tires are discarded annually. And, a 2023 report from Pew Charitable Trust found that an estimated 78 percent of ocean microplastics are from synthetic tire rubber.
All of these numbers, in addition to the data Baquero’s software harnesses to save companies money and time, factor into his passion for this business and its possibilities.
“For people not used to today’s technology, it takes some time, maybe, but we want to help them understand how to be more efficient, more green and also more cost effective,” Baquero said. “All are possible at the same time. Really.”
And, Baquero added, he hopes those skeptical will simply give the software a chance.
“If you don’t change with the industry, you get left behind,” he said. “It was time for this to change, for this problem to be solved.”
What’s next
Although Baquero is proud of the more than 40,000 vehicles his company currently helps manage, he said that number is just the tipping point for RueData. His eyes are focused on much larger numbers — global ones.
“Our current main goal is to serve 10 million vehicles, so we are just at the start of our journey,” he said. “We want to continue to help companies make better decisions and better manage their fleets based on data. We want to help them change a behavior and an old pattern. It’s safer, it saves money and it is better for the environment. How does it get better than that?”
