Gatik raises $200M in largest funding round after PepsiCo deal

Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies led the round, with Millennium Management, ARK Invest and Intact Private Capital also participating. The Santa Clara, California-based company has raised about $500 million since emerging from stealth in 2019. Gatik did not disclose its valuation.

The funding marks a transition from a startup with a few pilot programs into a company running commercial driverless operations with multiple customers in several cities, the report said. Co-founder and CEO Gautam Narang said the investors are long-term partners for its scale-up plans and growth over the next few years.

Gatik specializes in middle-mile delivery, operating a fleet of driverless box trucks for short-haul routes. It began with fixed routes under 10 miles and has expanded to dynamic routes covering up to 400 miles with dozens of pickup and drop-off locations. Its customers include Walmart, Loblaw and PepsiCo.

Last year, Gatik reached a milestone allowing it to remove the safety driver from commercial routes. It now operates dozens of fully driverless trucks commercially across several markets, in a variety of conditions, according to Narang. The latest generation of its technology can run around the clock on surface streets and highways and handle light rain and snow.

Gatik did not share precise fleet numbers or confirm all current customers, but its largest public partnership is with PepsiCo, in which 41 driverless box trucks carry Frito-Lay products such as Cheetos and Doritos from distribution centers to stores in Dallas, Phoenix and Northwest Arkansas. Contracted revenue stands at $600 million, Narang said.

The new capital will help Gatik scale faster and expand beyond its 350-person workforce. Narang said the company plans to hire engineers and operational staff and enter new markets or deepen existing ones.