From Bike Deliveries to Zero-Emission Logistics: The HIVED Journey

In 2021, Murvah Iqbal and Mathias Krieger established HIVED upon realising the "last-mile" delivery of parcels had become antiquated in its systems, inefficient and harmful for the environment. According to the company's "About" page, they started by delivering parcels on their bikes in London to directly feel the pain points of delivery: unreliable service, high emissions, and a subpar customer experience.

They asked themselves: What if parcel delivery could be built from the ground up for the e-commerce era — tech-enabled, data-driven, entirely electric? That became HIVED's founding mission.

Founders & Roles

• Murvah Iqbal (Co-Founder & CEO): According to coverage, Murvah comes from entrepreneurial roots and started young, moving fast with the delivery idea and building operations alongside Mathias. A profile says he and Mathias were 24 and 25, respectively, when they launched.
• Mathias Krieger (Co-Founder & CPO/COO): Mathias brings product, operations, and technology leadership to HIVED, responsible for scaling the platform, the logistics tech stack, and sustainable fleet operations.
  

Together, their skills combine operational hustle (Murvah) and systems/technical scale (Mathias) — a firm founder pairing for logistics plus tech.

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Early Days & Building the Platform

HIVED was founded in 2021 in London. The initial MVP was humble: founders on bikes, personally making deliveries, gathering customer feedback, and seeing the gaps in existing courier services — late deliveries, lack of transparency, and a high carbon footprint. From those early experiences, they built a vision for a modern, sustainable parcel network: a 100% electric fleet, technology-first workflows, data feedback loops, and customer-centric service.

The company's offering now positions itself as "the most loved sustainable logistics platform" — delivering parcels across the UK for e-commerce brands, using electric vans/trucks, optimisation tech and a carbon-conscious supply chain.

Milestones, Growth & Funding

HIVED has achieved rapid growth, notable funding, and recognition:

• It has been featured among the fastest-growing UK startups, ranked in the Sifted 100 in 2025.
• In July 2025, it raised US$42 million (£31 million) in a Series B funding round led by NordicNinja, aiming to scale nationwide.
• It boasts major brand partnerships — e.g., ASOS, Nespresso, Zara — and claims significant carbon reduction per parcel.
• The company emphasises its environmental credentials, a nationwide fully electric fleet, ambitions for reusable packaging, and high on-time delivery metrics.
  

Differentiation & Philosophy

What sets HIVED (and the founders' vision) apart:

• Sustainability built in: Rather than retrofitting electric vans, HIVED was conceived as fully electric, from day one. Their promise of "delivery fit for the 21st century" centres on zero-emission logistics.
• Tech + data-driven: HIVED emphasises not just vehicles but also optimisation platforms, route algorithms, tracking, customer experience metrics, and brand integration. According to reports, their software (“HIVEDmind”) is a core asset.
• Customer-centric service: The founders recognised that many consumers experience delivery as a "nightmare" — delays, opaque status, missed windows. HIVED frames itself as making delivery "seamless, not stressful".
• Scaling ambition: From humble bike-deliveries to a national UK rollout, the founders aim for widespread transformation of logistics, not just a niche service.

Challenges & Founder Leadership

Even with promise, the logistics + electric-fleet business poses significant operational, financial and execution challenges. The founders have spoken publicly about several of these:

• Capital intensity: Electric vehicles are expensive, infrastructure (charging, depots) takes build-out, and scaling logistics operations has high fixed costs.
• Execution risk: Logistics is notoriously tricky — "last mile" problems, urban routing, variable volumes, returns, customer satisfaction—all are hard to manage. The founders’ early experience on bikes gave them firsthand empathy for this complexity.
• Brand trust & switching inertia: Large retailers are cautious in switching couriers; the founders needed to demonstrate reliability, service quality, and cost-effectiveness.
• Sustainability & differentiation: Many delivery companies are going "green"; HIVED must maintain a unique advantage via tech, data and service quality to avoid commoditisation.
• Scaling culture & operations together: As a small founding team broke into dozens of employees and hundreds of drivers, they face the classic challenge of preserving culture, service quality and founder vision. Iqbal has noted how at 24 he was delivering parcels himself — now the team is much larger.
  

Their leadership style emphasises grit, continuous learning and founder adaptability. 

"We started the company when I was 24 and Mathias was 25 … building a startup is one of the most impossible things and keeping up relentless energy even on the days when you don't feel like everything is going your way can be tough."

Why Their Story Matters

• The COVID-era e-commerce boom amplified demand for fast, reliable delivery. Yet much of the logistics infrastructure remained legacy. The HIVED founders jumped ahead of the curve in building 21st-century logistics.
• The story is a powerful example of mission-driven founding: sustainability is deeply embedded into HIVED’s DNA, not an afterthought.
• Their founder-market fit is notable: young founders who physically made deliveries, felt the pain, and translated that into platform vision.
• The business sits at the intersection of ecommerce, sustainability and logistics tech — three massive tailwinds. Their ability to execute in such a complex space is compelling.
• Their early funding and growth suggest that investors believe logistics + climate tech + tech platform is a valid formula for scale, not just a consumer app.

The Road Ahead: Vision & Next Steps

Looking forward, Murvah and Mathias have outlined strategic priorities for HIVED:

• National UK expansion: The company is actively rolling into cities beyond London (e.g., Manchester, Birmingham) to serve more e-commerce brands and reduce carbon footprint in more urban areas.
• Technology enhancement: They intend to deepen their AI/logistics stack (HIVEDmind), invest in real-time tracking, dynamic routing, reusable packaging systems and data analytics for clients.
• Sustainability leadership: Beyond zero-emission fleets, HIVED plans reusable packaging loops, integration with retail/brands’ carbon-goals and new business models for returns/reverse logistics.
• Partnerships & brand integrations: To win major retailers and global brands who need reliable, sustainable logistics to meet consumer expectation and ESG commitments.
• Profitability & unit economics: As they scale, achieving a balance between service quality, emissions savings, and cost competitiveness relative to legacy couriers will be essential.

International expansion: While currently UK-focused, the ambition hints at broader European or global reach — many logistics market dynamics are similar in major cities worldwide.