At the 2025 FreightWaves Future of Freight (F3) event, we took center stage with the live debut of Cortex AI— and came home with Best in Show honors for our demo led by Danielle Villegas, Chief Product Officer, and Chris Noble, Sr. Director of Product.
Danielle joined FreightWaves’ What the Truck?!? podcast to unpack our AI strategy and share how PCS TMS powered by Cortex is helping midsize fleets run leaner, smarter, and more profitable.
Bringing AI to Mid-Size Fleets
While most AI tools have catered to mega carriers and brokers, we are flipping the script. “We serve the backbone of the industry, midsize fleets who wear a dozen hats a day,’ Danielle said. ‘They don’t need more dashboards. They need intelligence built into the system they already trust.” Cortex AI is fully embedded intelligence into PCS Carrier TMS, delivering smarter dispatching, opportunity scoring, and backhaul matching, without adding complexity or headcount.
Built to Assist, Not Replace
Danielle emphasized that Cortex isn’t here to replace dispatchers—it’s here to assist them. During months of beta testing, Cortex AI accurately predicted the dispatcher’s preferred driver over 97% of the time. By surfacing recommendations and automating repetitive tasks, Cortex frees dispatchers to focus on higher-value work like securing freight and optimizing routes. ‘This isn’t a black-box,” she said. “It’s guidance that fits how our customers actually work.”
Live Demo, Real Impact
Our seven-minute live demo earned the team top honors at F3, with real-time driver matching, load opportunity scoring, and voice-powered backhaul outreach. Danielle and Chris Noble showed how Cortex AI can reduce decision-making time from hours to minutes and deliver real profit impact for lean operations. As Danielle said, “We’re not just talking about AI. We’re putting it to work inside the TMS fleets already use every day.”
Looking Ahead
We are just getting started. With Cortex AI live and in-market, the company is committed to fast iteration, customer feedback, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in freight tech. ‘We’ve created a culture where failing fast is safe, learning is constant, and shipping great products is the goal,” Danielle shared. ‘This launch has been a career highlight—for me, and for our entire engineering team.”
Request a demo to learn how Cortex AI fits into your operation.
