Gatik raises $200M to grow driverless fleet past 100 trucks this year

Founded in 2017, Gatik operates short regional routes, moving loads from distribution centers to retail stores. The company said it has completed 85,000 driverless orders, with 99% arriving on time. PepsiCo is its biggest customer, and since signing a multiyear agreement in June, it has put 41 driverless Gatik trucks onto Frito-Lay runs around Dallas, Phoenix and northwest Arkansas. Walmart was the first major customer disclosed, followed by Kroger, Tyson Foods and Canada’s Loblaw. Contracted revenue across the customer base exceeds $600 million. The trucks operate in Texas, Arizona, Arkansas and Canada.

Gatik supplies the autonomy system, while the trucks come off manufacturer assembly lines. Third-generation vehicles running the Gatik Driver system operate around the clock on surface streets and highways, and light rain and snow no longer stop them. Safety drivers were removed from commercial routes within the past year. Early routes were fixed and under 10 miles; dynamic routing now extends to as much as 400 miles, with multiple pickup and drop-off points.

Chief Executive and co-founder Gautam Narang called the round “a clear validation of Gatik’s commercial leadership in autonomous freight.” Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies led the financing, with Millennium Management, ARK Investment Management and Intact Private Capital also participating. Koch’s venture arm, which led Gatik’s $85 million Series B in 2021, returned, and Intact tripled its commitment.

Cathie Wood, founder and chief executive of ARK Investment Management, said autonomous freight has reached “an inflection point” as artificial intelligence and robotics converge. Gatik has shown autonomous trucking is moving past experimentation into commercially viable operations, she said.