David Petersen co-founded Flexport in 2013 with his brother Ryan Petersen. Ryan is the chairman and CEO. Ryan earlier co-founded the trade data company Import Genius.
Flexport received its customs licence from U.S. Customs and Border Protection on March 31, 2013. It joined Y Combinator in 2014.
The company builds software for freight forwarding and supply chain work. In early 2022 it raised $935 million at an $8 billion valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz and MSD Partners.
In May 2023 Shopify handed Flexport its logistics business in return for 13 percent of the company.