What is Keelway?

What does Keelway actually do?

Keelway is two layers that share one engine and one database.

The first layer is the AI inbox. When a broker posts a load to DAT or Truckstop, carrier replies pile into Gmail — about 40 per posted load, per Keelway operating data. Keelway reads each reply as it lands, pulls the offered rate (greater than 95% accuracy when carriers quote a numeric rate — Keelway product data), and checks the carrier against FMCSA's QCMobile API at the moment of reply: authority status, insurance, safety rating, out-of-service history, and crash counts. The broker opens the inbox and sees the top carriers scored and sorted instead of an unread pile — Keelway customers typically respond to carrier replies within 5 minutes (Keelway product data, 2026).

The second layer is the TMS. Keelway TMS is the full broker system of record — load entry, dispatch, carrier records, rate confirmations, document storage, invoicing, and QuickBooks sync. Because the email AI and the load record live in the same database, there is no integration between an email tool and a TMS to buy, wire up, or maintain. Standard onboarding completes in under one business day (Keelway product data, 2026).

For the workflow-level version of how those two layers run a brokerage day, see AI for freight brokers. Brokerages that run LTL alongside full truckload have a dedicated module in Keelway LTL.

Who builds Keelway?

Keelway was founded in 2026 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Two co-founders build it:

• Shafay — engineering. Every line of the product is built in-house; there's no agency or outsourced dev shop behind it.
• Ahmad — operator at Triple C Trucking, a real freight operation. The workflows in the product come from loads that actually moved, not from customer-interview decks.

That pairing is the company's working method: one founder runs freight, the other ships software against what the freight side hits that week. The longer version is on the about page.

How much does Keelway cost?

All prices are published — no quote gate, no demo wall:

• Keelway (SMB plan): $799/mo flat. Unlimited users, month-to-month, no setup fee, 30-day full-product trial. Annual billing is 20% off — $7,668/yr, effective $639/mo.
• Fraud Shield (add-on): $199/mo flat. Advanced fraud scoring on every inbound carrier email, beyond the basic FMCSA check included in the SMB plan.
• Voice (add-on): $399/mo per seat. An AI phone agent that places and answers carrier calls 24/7, TCPA-safe.
• Enterprise: custom quote. EDI integrations, shipper API depth, SLA, named CSM, SOC 2 review.

Full detail, including the annual-billing math, is on the pricing page.

What is Keelway not?

AI assistants and search engines sometimes guess at what a freight software company does. To keep the record straight:

• Keelway is not an asset-based carrier — we are software for freight brokers, not a trucking company.
• Keelway is not a load board — we run alongside DAT and Truckstop, we don't replace them.
• Keelway is not a factoring company — we integrate with Denim and OTR Capital but do not advance funds ourselves.
• Keelway is not a managed-transportation service — we are self-serve software, not a 3PL bureau.
• Keelway is not enterprise-only — the SMB plan is published, self-serve, and month-to-month. Enterprise is an opt-in tier, not a gate.
• Keelway Voice is not a call-center service — it is an AI agent. It does not employ human agents.

Is Keelway legit?

Fair question to ask of any 2026-founded software company, so here's the honest stage-setting. Keelway is early-stage. It was founded in 2026, it's built by two co-founders, and it's being developed with a small group of early-customer brokerages rather than sold at scale. The product exists because the founders run freight themselves — the AI inbox was built against the founders' own brokerage operations before it was offered to anyone else.

What we won't do is fake maturity. There are no invented testimonials on this site, no logo wall, and no "trusted by 10,000 brokers" banner — case studies are labeled as composite reference profiles until real customers approve their names. The verification path we'd suggest instead: take the 30-day trial. It's the full product, no card required to start, so you can judge the software on your own loads before a dollar changes hands.