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Autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics to go public: What it means and why it matters

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Kodiak Robotics, a startup developing autonomous truck technology, is planning to go public via a merger with Ares Acquisition Corporation II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

The deal values Kodiak at approximately $1.1 billion in net proceeds and $2.5 billion in total equity value, according to statements from the company.

While the transaction is still subject to approval by shareholders and regulators, it is expected to close in the second half of 2025. Once completed, Kodiak will be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “KDK”. [Read more…] about Autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics to go public: What it means and why it matters

Autonomous truck startup Kodiak to go public

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Autonomous trucking startup Kodiak Robotics is to go public through a merger with Ares Acquisition Corporation II, a special purpose acquisition company affiliated with Ares Management Corporation.

The deal will make Kodiak a publicly listed company under the name Kodiak AI, with shares expected to trade under the ticker symbols KDK and KDK WS, pending regulatory approval.

Founded in 2018 by autonomy pioneer Don Burnette, Kodiak has emerged as a leading player in driverless trucking, developing an AI-powered automated driving system known as the Kodiak Driver. [Read more…] about Autonomous truck startup Kodiak to go public

Top 10 autonomous truck companies: Powering into the future

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Autonomous trucks are one of the most exciting developments in any automotive category, in our opinion. The main reason we think this is because we can’t see autonomous cars being given permission by governments to operate freely on public roads.

Autonomous trucks, meanwhile, have already racked up many years of happy operating in the mining sector – and that is likely to grow, and maybe encompass moving non-mining materials and goods as well. This might need tweaks such as driving at night on lonely highways, but that’s not a problem if you’re not human, of course.

Whether you compare them to other segments or not, autonomous trucks are at the forefront of technological advancements in transportation. These vehicles are designed to navigate and operate without human intervention, and represent a paradigm shift in logistics, freight, and commercial transportation.

The journey toward autonomous trucking began with prototypes and pilot tests that challenged the boundaries of innovation.

The first autonomous truck to make headlines in this recent era – let’s say the past 10 to 15 years – was a prototype developed by Daimler Trucks, which successfully completed a public road test in Nevada in 2015. This milestone marked the start of widespread interest and investment in autonomous truck technology. [Read more…] about Top 10 autonomous truck companies: Powering into the future

Kodiak partners with Atlas Energy to deliver 100 autonomous ‘RoboTruck’ loads

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Kodiak Robotics, an autonomous truck developer, and Atlas Energy Solutions say that Atlas has completed the delivery of 100 loads of proppant (a sand-like material used to keep fractures open in oil and gas wells) with its two RoboTrucks, semi-trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver, Kodiak’s self-driving system.

This milestone marks the first time ever that a customer has taken ownership of a RoboTruck and launched driverless commercial semi-trucking operations.

The initial driverless operations, which were announced in July 2024, involved Kodiak delivering Atlas’s frac sand along a 21-mile off-road route in West Texas’s Permian Basin with Kodiak-owned driverless trucks. [Read more…] about Kodiak partners with Atlas Energy to deliver 100 autonomous ‘RoboTruck’ loads

Kodiak surpasses 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles in delivery collaboration with JB Hunt and Bridgestone

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J.B. Hunt, one of the largest supply chain solutions providers in North America, Bridgestone, the famous tire brand, and Kodiak Robotics, an autonomous trucking company, are celebrating a successful ongoing weekly delivery collaboration that has surpassed 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles, incorporating Kodiak autonomous trucks to ship Bridgestone passenger car tires between South Carolina and Dallas.

Since launching in January, the autonomous route has been driven with no accidents and achieved 100 percent on-time pick-up and delivery, and the companies have expanded the collaboration to include additional weekly deliveries along the route.

Utilizing Kodiak’s hub-to-hub autonomous delivery model, the long-haul stretch of the route from Atlanta to Dallas – approximately 750 miles and 16 hours – is completed using Kodiak autonomous driving technology, which is fitted with Bridgestone M719 drive tires and R213 steer tires. [Read more…] about Kodiak surpasses 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles in delivery collaboration with JB Hunt and Bridgestone

Atlas Energy to install Kodiak autonomous technology into high-capacity trucks

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Atlas Energy Solutions and Kodiak Robotics have entered into an agreement whereby Kodiak will outfit new Atlas high-capacity trucks with Kodiak’s autonomous driving technology.

The two companies have already completed their first driverless delivery of frac sand (a type of sand with small, uniform particles) in West Texas’s Permian Basin. The 21-mile delivery transported Atlas’s high-quality frac sand from an Atlas depot to a wellsite with no one inside the cab.

The companies also announced that Atlas has placed an order for Kodiak-equipped driverless trucks that will deliver frac sand across the Permian Basin’s existing infrastructure of private lease roads. [Read more…] about Atlas Energy to install Kodiak autonomous technology into high-capacity trucks

Kodiak unveils industry-first semi-truck designed for scaled driverless operation

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Kodiak Robotics, a self-driving trucking company, has introduced what it says is “the world’s first driverless-ready semi-truck designed for scaled deployment”.

It is equipped with all the necessary redundant safety-critical hardware, including braking, steering and sensors, as well as the software required for driverless operations at scale.

Kodiak’s sixth-generation truck further enhances the overall reliability of the technology by building on Kodiak’s five years of real-world testing that includes 5,000 loads carried over more than 2.5 million miles. [Read more…] about Kodiak unveils industry-first semi-truck designed for scaled driverless operation

US Army awards Kodiak Robotics $50 million contract for autonomous trucks

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Kodiak Robotics, a self-driving trucking company, today announced it has been awarded a $49.9 million, 24-month United States Department of Defense (DoD) agreement to help automate future US Army ground vehicles led by the Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) program.

This effort will be in support of vehicles designed for reconnaissance, surveillance, and other high-risk missions.

Through this award, which started in October 2022 and was awarded by DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) on behalf of the Army’s RCV program office, Kodiak will leverage its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy autonomous capabilities for driverless vehicles that further strengthen national security. [Read more…] about US Army awards Kodiak Robotics $50 million contract for autonomous trucks

Werner Enterprises and Kodiak Robotics partner to run 24/7 long-haul autonomous freight operations

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Kodiak Robotics, a startup self-driving trucking company, is partnering with Werner Enterprises, a large US transportation and logistics provider, to establish an autonomous trucking lane and to showcase how efficiently autonomous trucks can be used with a transfer hub model at truckports.

The relationship commenced in August with a week-long pilot program in which a Kodiak truck, accompanied by a human safety driver at all times, completed four tours involving eight unique trips between Dallas and Lake City, Florida.

Werner Enterprises also joined Kodiak’s Partner Deployment Program, which helps carriers establish autonomous freight operations and seamlessly integrate the Kodiak Driver, Kodiak’s self-driving system, into their fleet. [Read more…] about Werner Enterprises and Kodiak Robotics partner to run 24/7 long-haul autonomous freight operations

Kodiak Robotics expands autonomous freight service to Florida with USPS partner

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Kodiak Robotics, a self-driving trucking company, has expanded its autonomous freight service to Florida with 10 Roads Express, a provider of time sensitive surface transportation for the US Postal Service.

To launch this partnership, Kodiak completed a round trip consisting of four commercial deliveries, including a coast-to-coast commercial run.

A Kodiak autonomous truck carried 10 Roads Express freight nearly 5,600 miles from San Antonio, Texas; to the San Francisco Bay Area; to Jacksonville, Florida; and back to San Antonio. The route was completed in just 114 hours. [Read more…] about Kodiak Robotics expands autonomous freight service to Florida with USPS partner