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The self-driving vehicle sector is still many years, if not decades, away from full maturity. Despite regular announcements that highlight real advancements, the industry still has a frontier-like atmosphere. Two stories from this week highlight the ongoing progress, potential, and risks—especially those that come with being publicly traded.
First, let’s talk about Gatik, a company specializing in autonomous and logistics technology for mid-mile trucking. I first covered Gatik in 2019, and now the company has announced an expanded, multi-year commercial agreement with Loblaw, Canada’s largest retailer. By the end of 2025, Gatik will roll out 20 driverless trucks to serve Loblaw’s stores throughout the greater Toronto area. According to co-founder and CEO Gautam Narang, an additional 30 autonomous vehicles will join the fleet by the close of 2026.
This partnership stands out not just for the number of vehicles involved. Narang explained that these trucks will manage Loblaw’s entire regional network. The third-generation autonomous vehicles will independently collect goods from two distribution hubs and deliver them to over 300 retail locations. “These stores represent several brands under the Loblaw group,” he noted.
In short, this isn’t a limited pilot on a set route. It’s a full-scale, complex commercial operation.
Next, there’s Kodiak Robotics, another company I’ve followed since its inception. Kodiak, which develops autonomous trucks for highways, industry, and defense, began trading on the Nasdaq this week under the symbols KDK and KDKRW.
Now known as Kodiak AI, the company went public through a merger with Ares Acquisition Corporation II, a special-purpose acquisition company affiliated with Ares Management. The transaction valued Kodiak at approximately $2.5 billion.
Kodiak secured $275 million in new funding, with more than $212.5 million coming from institutional backers. This included $145 million in PIPE investment and around $62.9 million in trust funds from Ares. It’s worth mentioning that the trust amount was reduced from $562 million after some SPAC investors opted to redeem their shares.
I interviewed founder and CEO Don Burnette the day before Kodiak’s public debut to discuss his decision to go public, especially via a SPAC. It was a significant milestone for Burnette, who was joined by his family to ring the opening bell. By Friday, shares were trading at about $7.70, roughly 10% below the opening price.
“As you might expect, building and growing a groundbreaking autonomous driving company requires substantial capital, and we saw public markets as the next step for our growth. When weighing a traditional IPO against a SPAC, we evaluated all possibilities,” he explained. “From a timing standpoint, the SPAC route made the most sense for us.”
Burnette is also optimistic about opportunities in defense. Here’s his perspective:
“I believe autonomy will shape the future of ground transportation overall,” he said, highlighting its advantages for defense logistics and reconnaissance missions. “A key factor is that defense applications demand unstructured autonomy, an area where we have developed deep expertise.”
A little bird
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
A few weeks back, we reported on issues at Hyundai’s electric air taxi venture Supernal, including the suspension of its air taxi project and the exit of both its CEO and CTO.
This week, we heard from a source that Supernal’s executive team is undergoing a broader restructuring—something Hyundai Motor Group has now confirmed.
Chief strategy officer Jaeyong Song and chief safety officer Tracy Lamb are among those transitioning out as part of a leadership change, according to the Korean conglomerate. Song’s departure is especially significant, as he previously served as VP of Hyundai’s Advanced Air Mobility division, from which Supernal was spun out in 2021. Also leaving is Lina Yang, who was most recently chief of staff to the former CEO and previously led Supernal’s “Intelligent Systems” division.
Deals!
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Remember Moxion Power, the portable battery company that raised $110 million before going under? Its founders have launched a new venture, Anode Technology Company, which has created a mobile battery and inverter system for EV charging and powering remote sites or events. The company just secured $9 million in seed funding, led by Eclipse Ventures. Jiten Behl, a partner at Eclipse and former chief growth officer at Rivian, led the investment—his interest reportedly stemming from his time at Rivian.
On a related note, Eclipse, a venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, has been particularly active this year. The firm led a $105 million round for Also, a micromobility startup spun out of Rivian, and recently brought on longtime T. Rowe Price Group investor Joe Fath as partner and head of growth.
Although Eclipse doesn’t exclusively invest in transportation, its portfolio in this space includes Arc, Bedrock Robotics, Reliable Robotics, Skyryse, and Wayve.
Other deals that stood out to me …
Rapido, a leading ride-hailing service in India and a competitor to Uber, doubled its valuation to $2.3 billion after a secondary share sale by food delivery giant Swiggy. This move comes just weeks after Rapido began testing food delivery, stepping into Swiggy’s main business area.
Telo, a startup developing compact electric trucks, raised $20 million in Series A funding. The round was co-led by designer and Telo co-founder Yves Béhar and Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning, who also sits on Telo’s board. Additional investors include Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and early-stage funds such as TO VC, E12 Ventures, and Neo.
The Trump administration is negotiating for up to a 10% stake in Lithium Americas in return for extending the repayment terms of a $2.26 billion Department of Energy loan. GM is a key backer of the Canadian company, which is developing what’s expected to be the largest lithium mine in the Western Hemisphere, located in Nevada.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
It’s been a busy week for cyberattacks in transportation. Stellantis confirmed a breach that exposed customer data, traced back to a hack of its Salesforce system. Meanwhile, a cyberattack that began last Friday on check-in systems from Collins Aerospace led to delays at airports in Brussels, Berlin, Dublin, and London’s Heathrow. The U.K.’s National Crime Agency has arrested a suspect in connection with the ransomware incident. Additionally, Jaguar Land Rover announced it will keep its factories closed for another week as it deals with the aftermath of a cyberattack.
Battery materials company Sila has launched operations at its Moses Lake, Washington facility—a significant step toward longer-range, faster-charging EVs. This is the first large-scale silicon anode plant in the West, initially able to supply battery materials for 20,000 to 50,000 EVs, with future expansions potentially serving up to 2.5 million vehicles.
Automakers are continuing to scale back their EV and electrified vehicle plans. Honda is halting U.S. production of its Acura ZDX electric model, which was being assembled by General Motors in Tennessee, according to CNBC. Stellantis has also scrapped plans to build a 4xe plug-in hybrid Jeep Gladiator in North America by the end of 2025. Which EV will be discontinued next?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an inquiry into Rivian due to concerns about seat belt issues in its electric delivery vans that could increase crash risks, Bloomberg reports.
Tesla has urged the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain current vehicle emissions standards, diverging from other major automakers who are seeking relaxed regulations.
TuneIn, an audio streaming platform, is partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to broadcast emergency alerts directly to drivers.
Volvo Cars has reaffirmed its commitment to U.S. manufacturing, announcing continued investment in its South Carolina plant and plans to expand production to include a hybrid model by decade’s end.
Waymo has introduced “Waymo for Business,” a new offering that lets companies set up accounts so employees can use robotaxi services in cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco.
Zoox has requested a federal exemption to allow its custom-built, pedal- and steering wheel-free robotaxis—owned by Amazon—to operate commercially.
One more thing
Lastly, there’s news from Luminar founder Austin Russell.
You might recall that Russell was abruptly replaced as CEO of the lidar company he founded in May. The company has never fully explained the change, only citing a “code of business conduct and ethics inquiry” initiated by the board.
Russell has kept a low profile; although he remains on Luminar’s board, he hasn’t signed any SEC filings since his departure. This week, he resurfaced as co-founder of a new venture, Russell AI Labs, described as a “platform supporting and building transformative AI and frontier tech companies.”
Russell’s exit from Luminar doesn’t seem to have hindered his ability to attract prominent partners or close major deals. His co-founders at Russell AI Labs are Markus Schäfer, CTO and board member at Mercedes-Benz Group AG, and Murtaza Ahmed, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs, SoftBank partner, and leader in the Vision Fund and Latin America Fund.
As part of its launch, Russell AI Labs announced a $300 million investment in agentic AI firm Emergence AI.
