A new heavyweight Hyperloop One investor will help the futuristic transport company achieve its vision of moving cargo more sustainably and efficiently, according to co-founder and executive chair Shervin Pishevar.
"Cargo has been the vision from the first days that I founded it. To be able to move cargo, the atoms, as fast possible, as the bits — that's really the vision here, and DP World is an incredible partner and now investor and board member," Pishevar said on CNBC's "Squawk Alley."
On Thursday, Hyperloop One announced that it received $50 million in a funding round led by Dubai-based DP World Group, which specializes in global trade infrastructure and operates about 77 ports around the world. Pishevar said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO of Dubai-based DP World Group, is a "visionary."
"Most likely, we'll be breaking ground on some of these cargo loops shortly in the future and it's a massive achievement to really get [DP World] on board with us," Pishevar said.
Brent Callinicos, Uber's former chief financial officer, was also tapped as Hyperloop One's full-time chief financial advisor. He said on "Squawk Alley" that he believes the world is likely going to become an "autonomous ecosystem" and companies like Uber and Hyperloop One "are all pieces of the puzzle that are solving the problems that we're talking about" such as urban congestion and sustainable transportation.
Pishevar agreed and said that just finding more sustainable ways to transport goods could vastly reduce both congestion and pollution. He said the world can expect the first full-scale, functioning cargo Hyperloop in the first quarter of 2017.
