Kodiak AI, a provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology, today announced that Kodiak Robotics, Inc. successfully completed its business combination with Ares Acquisition Corporation II (NYSE: AACT) (“AACT”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company.
The business combination was approved by AACT shareholders on September 23, 2025. In connection with the closing, AACT was renamed Kodiak AI, Inc.
Kodiak AI, Inc.’s common stock and public warrants are expected to begin trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the “Nasdaq”) on September 25, 2025 under the ticker symbols “KDK” and “KDKRW”, respectively.
In connection with its business combination with AACT, Kodiak received more than $212.5 million from certain institutional investors, including $145 million in PIPE funding and approximately $62.9 million in trust cash from AACT, before expenses.
Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak, says: “The transportation industry faces growing challenges, including safety risks, rising costs, and driver shortages.
“Going public with the support of our partners at AACT marks an important step in Kodiak’s journey to help transform how freight moves by providing our driverless solution to customers.
“The Kodiak Driver is already on the road, safely and reliably delivering freight every day for paying customers without a human in the cab. Our driverless operations show that autonomy is no longer a future promise but a reality today.
“Thanks to our Kodiak team members for their extraordinary dedication in helping us achieve this milestone, and I am eager to begin our next chapter as a public company with the support of our new and existing investors.”
Kodiak’s next-generation AI-powered autonomous driving system, the Kodiak Driver, is designed to help address critical challenges in the trucking industry and the public sector, including a significant labor shortage, rising costs, and demand for shorter delivery timelines.
The Kodiak Driver integrates learnings from real-world experience across commercial trucking and public sector applications to continuously improve AI models and increase reliability and efficiency in a wide range of environments.
With approximately 3 million on-road autonomous miles and over 3,000 paid driverless hours logged to date, the Kodiak Driver is already delivering value to customers. The Company has already achieved significant commercial milestones:
In 2024, Kodiak became the first company to announce delivery of driverless semi-trucks to a paying customer, Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE: AESI), which in 2025 placed an initial order of 100 trucks.
Today, Atlas owns and operates a fleet of eight Kodiak Driver-powered driverless trucks, operating day and night, up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Kodiak has delivered over 7,300 loads for on-highway customers including Maersk, IKEA, J.B. Hunt, Bridgestone, C.R. England, and more.
Allyson Satin, chief operating officer of AACT and partner at Ares Management Corporation, says: “When we launched AACT, we set out to find a differentiated business primed for commercial growth and well-positioned to enter the public markets.
“Kodiak has distinguished itself through its innovative technology, which is already integrated into customer fleets and utilized for daily, revenue-generating driverless freight operations.
“We are confident in Don and his team as they continue to execute on their strategy to scale as a public company, improve the safety and efficiency of the freight industry and create long-term value for investors.
“On behalf of AACT and Ares, I want to congratulate the entire Kodiak organization, and we look forward to our continued partnership.”
By accessing the public markets through its combination with AACT, the Company is well-positioned to scale its commercialization of the Kodiak Driver.
The Company is leveraging both public capital and strategic investor alignment to capture a share of the estimated $4+ trillion global freight market.
Kodiak has partnered with Roush Industries, Inc., a leading vehicle upfitter, to scale its production of autonomous trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver. Roush delivered its first Kodiak Driver-powered truck in August 2025.
The Kodiak Driver combines advanced AI-powered software with a modular hardware system designed to integrate seamlessly into customers’ existing fleets.
The platform delivers scalable, safe, and efficient autonomous trucking by leveraging learnings from millions of real-world miles across every Kodiak Driver-powered vehicle, ensuring that advancements made by one truck benefit the entire fleet.
Kodiak offers its technology through a Driver-as-a-Service model, in which customers pay a per-mile or per-vehicle licensing fee to access driverless operations and ongoing support.
Investor celebration and bell-ringing ceremony
To celebrate its expected public market debut on September 25, 2025, Kodiak will display a Kodiak Driver-powered truck in Times Square, and ring the Nasdaq opening bell at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Executives, board members, and key investors will gather to mark this milestone. The ceremony can be streamed live and replayed on the Nasdaq website at https://www.nasdaq.com/marketsite/bell-ringing-ceremony.
Advisors
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are serving as PIPE placement agents and capital markets advisors to AACT. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to AACT. Ropes & Gray LLP is acting as legal advisor to the PIPE placement agents and capital markets advisors.
Chardan and TD Cowen are acting as Financial and Capital Markets advisors to Kodiak. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. is serving as legal advisor to Kodiak. Greenberg Traurig, LLP is serving as legal advisor to Chardan and TD Cowen.
The Blueshirt Group is serving as investor relations advisors for Kodiak.
