If a bag of snacks shows up at your local store on time, there is a decent chance a robot helped get it there. Gatik, a self-driving truck startup based in Santa Clara, California, just raised $200 million, the largest funding round in its history.
The cash landed two months after Gatik signed a multiyear deal with PepsiCo. Under that agreement, 41 driverless box trucks haul food and beverages for the company.
It is ordinary, everyday freight, but it carries a lot of weight for the company's future. Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies spearheaded the funding round, with Millennium Management and Intact Private Capital also participating.
Gatik has now collected about $500 million in total since going public in 2019. The company declined to disclose its valuation.
Gatik does not build long-haul big rigs. Its trucks are box trucks built on Isuzu vehicles, designed for what the industry calls the middle mile: the stretch between a distribution center and a store.
Think of it as the part that gets products onto the shelf you shop from. The company started with routes under 10 miles.
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Its trucks now handle flexible routes up to 400 miles with dozens of stops along the way. Last year, Gatik removed the safety driver from its commercial routes.
Dozens of fully driverless trucks, the company's third-generation models, now operate in several cities around the clock, including in light rain and snow. Removing the safety driver is a huge leap for an autonomous vehicle company.
That move proves the systems can handle real streets and real schedules without a human watching the whole time. Walmart was Gatik's first customer. Loblaw and Tyson Foods also use its trucks.
That mix shows the technology has moved beyond pilot projects into regular operations. "The technology has evolved and matured a lot over the last few years, especially with the latest generation of our tech," CEO and co-founder Gautam Narang said.
Trucks that can handle weather and run all day are important because they can cover more deliveries and keep schedules steady.
The new funding will support scaling operations and expanding into new markets. Narang said the investors are in it for the long run.
"These are all long-term investors," he said. That kind of backing matters for a young company making big, expensive bets on self-driving technology.
It gives Gatik room to grow without racing to raise cash every few months. The timing also sends a signal. A big round like this, landing so close to the PepsiCo deal, tells the market that Gatik's model is worth funding.
You cannot buy shares of Gatik right now because it is privately held. But the company's progress is a signal about where freight and automation are heading. Trucking is a huge part of the cost of almost everything you buy. If driverless delivery becomes routine, it could take some pressure off those costs over time.
There is also a bigger trend to watch. When startups like Gatik sign contracts with companies like PepsiCo, it pulls more money and attention into self-driving vehicles. That can speed up the whole industry's shift, not just one company's plans.
So the next time you pick up a snack at the store, it is not crazy to wonder how it got there. The answer may soon involve a truck with no one in the driver's seat. Gatik's focus on the middle mile distinguishes it from many self-driving truck startups that target long-haul routes. By concentrating on shorter, repeated runs, the company has reached reliable driverless operations sooner.
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