Latest news with #DavidKaplan
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Kodiak looks to go public via SPAC deal
This story was originally published on Trucking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Trucking Dive newsletter. Kodiak Robotics intends to go public via a merger with Ares Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company, at a $2.5 billion pre-money valuation, according to a Monday press release. The autonomous vehicle technology company, founded in 2018, believes that entering the public markets will fast-track its plan to expand partnerships, reach a larger customer base and offer better solutions to the trucking industry, said Don Burnette, Kodiak's CEO, in the release. While the SPAC deal is subject to shareholder approval, the companies expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2025. Kodiak AI — the newly formed firm — would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols KDK and KDK WS, respectively. The agreement comes after Kodiak expanded its partnership with Atlas Energy Solutions earlier this year, enabling the energy company to haul over 100 loads of proppant on private roads in West Texas. Atlas has since committed to an initial order of 100 autonomous trucks, according to the Kodiak presentation. Kodiak cites that strong customer traction — as well as a $4 trillion global market opportunity — among its top ways to create value for investors. The company also compares itself to competitor Aurora, which has logged just as many autonomous miles, but has a higher quarterly cash burn, per the presentation. 'As an early-mover in autonomous trucking and first to deliver a commercial driverless product to a customer, Kodiak has quickly set itself apart as an industry leader in a significant addressable market,' said David Kaplan, CEO and co-chairman of the board of directors of AACT and co-founder of Ares, in the release. In addition to new public market investors, the combined company anticipates a $551 million cash infusion from Ares Management Corp., an affiliate of Ares Acquisition, the release continued. Institutional investors, such as Soros Fund Management and Ark Investments, have also committed $110 million in additional funding. SPAC deals have been volatile in recent years, however. Following a pandemic-era resurgence, SPACs launched between 2019 and 2020 reported 35% year-over-year losses, according to Investopedia. While SPACs have generally underperformed in the market, there was an increase in IPO activity last year with $9.6 billion in gross proceeds. In its presentation, Kodiak outlined more than 50 risk factors for potential investors, including its net losses and limited operating history. While specifics are not available about its net losses, Kodiak noted that it has a $20 million quarterly cash burn. The company is expected to release a registration statement soon, which will include more details about its existing and future business model. Recommended Reading Kodiak, Atlas scale autonomous truck deployment on private road network Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Kodiak Robotics to go public through merger with AACT
Kodiak Robotics, a developer of autonomous vehicle technology, has signed a definitive business combination agreement with Ares Acquisition Corporation II (AACT), a special purpose acquisition company affiliated with Ares Management Corporation. Upon completion of the transaction, Kodiak will become a publicly listed company in the US under the name Kodiak AI. Founded in 2018, Kodiak focuses on AI-powered autonomous driving systems for the commercial trucking industry. Its core product, the Kodiak Driver, is a single-platform solution combining AI software and modular hardware designed to integrate with customers' existing logistics operations. The boards of Kodiak and AACT have unanimously approved the proposed merger. The business combination values Kodiak at a pre-money equity valuation of $2.5bn. The transaction is expected to provide the combined company with approximately $551m in cash from AACT's trust account, assuming no redemptions. Institutional investors, including affiliates of Soros Fund Management, ARK Investments, and Ares, have committed over $110m in support of the transaction. Existing investor ARK Investments has reaffirmed its support for Kodiak. Kodiak founder and CEO Burnette said: 'We believe entering the public markets will accelerate our strategy to expand our existing partner relationships, provide our technology to a broader customer base, and deliver enhanced solutions across the commercial trucking and public sector industries.' Subject to shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025. AACT CEO and co-chairman of the board of directors and co-founder of Ares David Kaplan said: 'As an early-mover in autonomous trucking and first to deliver a commercial driverless product to a customer, Kodiak has quickly set itself apart as an industry leader in a significant addressable market.' "Kodiak Robotics to go public through merger with AACT" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Close call at Reagan National Airport between military and passenger jet remains under investigation
WASHINGTON - A near-miss between a military aircraft and a Delta passenger jet at Reagan National Airport on Friday is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The incident comes nearly two months after a crash over the Potomac River claimed 67 lives. The Brief FAA Investigates Incident: Military and passenger planes narrowly avoided collision at Reagan National Airport. Passengers React: Safety praised despite nerves about air travel. Safety Rules Updated: Helicopter restrictions and new ground stop procedures implemented. According to FOX 5's David Kaplan, at approximately 3 p.m. on Friday, a Delta flight bound for Minneapolis was cleared for takeoff. Simultaneously, four U.S. Air Force T-38 aircraft were en route to a flyover at Arlington National Cemetery, according to Air Force officials. Shortly after the Delta flight became airborne, an automated alert instructed the pilot to take corrective action to avoid a potential collision. Preliminary reports suggest the planes came within 500 feet of each other, though an official figure has not yet been confirmed by the FAA. Both the passenger jet and military aircraft were directed by air traffic controllers to avoid a collision, according to FAA statements. The Delta pilot later confirmed with controllers that the military planes had passed approximately 500 feet below. VIDEO: DC plane crashes with Army helicopter at Reagan National Airport What we know Passengers at the airport expressed mixed reactions. Robert Coulston, a retired Navy pilot, commended the safety systems for functioning as intended. "It's a good thing, but then they'll review it and see what happens, when it happens, that type of thing, and who's at fault, and they'll fix it," Coulston said. Nicole Jackson, a traveler, admitted to feeling nervous during her flight but expressed continued trust in air travel. "You would hope that's not the norm. It's just, I think, amplified some more because things have happened, but I still trust flying," she noted. What they're saying Aviation expert Richard Levy praised the Delta pilot's actions and assured the public of aviation safety. "Keep flying, aviation is safe. Yes, there was some mistakes made to be learned from, but you're still much safer in an aircraft than you are driving to work or to the airport. But yes, we need to do a little bit of tweaking here, and it will be done. No doubt in my mind." Levy said. The Delta flight continued safely to its destination in Minneapolis. Since the January 29 crash, immediate safety measures have been implemented. Helicopter traffic is now restricted near the airport, and a new FAA rule mandates a ground stop whenever Marine One is in flight near Washington, D.C. The Source FOX 5 DC
Miami Herald
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Voices Recognizes Standout Voice Over Talent With 2025 Voicey Awards
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK / ACCESS Newswire / February 27, 2025 / Voices, the world's leading voice solutions platform, just announced the winners of the 2025 Voicey Awards, Voices' annual awards program recognizing outstanding voice over talent across a variety of categories. With human and ethically sourced AI voice actors on the platform, the Voicey awards recognize voice actors at the top of their game across a number of categories, such as animation, videogames, eLearning, and more. "The Voicey Awards are our way of recognizing some of the best performing and hardest working voice talent we have on our platform," says Tara Parachuk, Senior Manager, Brand Communications. "These voice actors have built a strong reputation with repeat clients, and some of them are rising stars getting well-deserved recognition. With awards winners spanning a wide range of languages and categories, the Voicey Awards also highlight the incredible diversity and depth of talent in the industry." The awards are not restricted by location or language; many Voicey Awards winners, including several from this year, primarily perform in languages outside of English, reflecting the global reach of Voices' platform. The winners are determined through a variety of criteria including the number of times a voice actor was hired, the number of favorites received on demos, and other performance metrics. The full list of winners can be found below: Top 3 Awards Best New Demo of the Year: Christopher RoshanBest Female Voice Actor of the Year: Rachael WestBest Male Voice Actor of the Year: David Kaplan Category Awards Animation: Rachael WestAudiobooks: Geraldo CôrtesDocumentaries: Christian Faucher & Lou LamberteLearning: Angela BayehMovie Trailers: Tim SimmonsOnline Ad: Rachael WestPodcasting: Paul BrownRadio: Jim MerkelTelephone: LM FloydTelevision Ads: Rachael WestVideo games: Steven KellyVideo Narration: Rachael WestVoice Assistant: David Kaplan The full list can also be viewed here: About Voices Voices is the #1 comprehensive voice solutions platform, featuring the best talent in the world offering unparalleled quality with options tailored to your needs. Elevate your brand effortlessly with access to new possibilities in the world of voice over with talent, convenience, and AI innovation - all in one place. Voices has worked with major clients including Shopify, Microsoft, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, Hulu, Cisco, the biggest ad agencies and thousands more small businesses. Media Contact: Patrice Aldave | PR Specialist | | 519-858-4224 Contact Information Patrice Aldave PR SOURCE: Voices press release
New York Times
12-02-2025
- General
- New York Times
How Can My Valentine's Flowers Show the Earth Love, Too?
It may be more heartbreaking than hearing your Thanksgiving dinner is wasteful or your Halloween chocolate is problematic. But yes: Those Valentine's roses do have an environmental cost. The majority of cut flowers this time of year are flown in from Colombia and Ecuador on refrigerated airplanes, burning through fossil fuels. Commercial flower farming has also been linked to other environmental problems, such as toxic pesticides and extensive water use. To be truly climate-conscious, you might consider skipping the luxury of winter flower bouquets. However, there's some nuance to this decision. You can probably still put together a more climate-friendly bouquet at the most humble flower stand if you know what to look for. Roses are red, tulips might be greener 'The carbon issue is definitely one that people are asking about,' said Debra Prinzing, the author of the book 'Slow Flowers' and founder of an online directory for buying flowers locally. 'But not everybody, including myself, is equipped to do that calculation.' Researchers have assessed the total carbon costs for some flower crops, but each stem in a bouquet could come from a different country and be grown in a different way, making the math tricky. One way to simplify things is by buying a classic bunch of tulips. This is the only flower mass-grown in the United States in the winter on such a scale that you can find them at most local shops. And the majority of tulips sold to Americans are shipped by truck for relatively short distances. It hasn't always been that way. About a decade ago, 'most of the supermarkets were dominated by Dutch tulips,' said David Kaplan, a longtime Rhode Island-based flower importer and distributor. Walmart said that most of their current tulips were grown domestically. Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and the Kroger grocery chain are often supplied by a grower in Virginia. There are major tulip operations in New Jersey, the state of Washington and across the border in southern Ontario and British Columbia. Together, Canadian and American farms grew 253 million tulips sold in the U.S. in 2023, the last year for which full statistics are available. That was four times as many as the Dutch supplied that year. In other words, if you bought tulips for Valentine's Day in 2023, there was a good chance that they were fairly locally grown. Some flower farmers have turned to them partly because they can be grown in abundance. 'You can grow a lot of tulips in a very small space in a fairly small amount of time,' said Jennifer Kouvant, who co-owns a Hudson Valley farm. 'In our pretty small space of, I would say, 18 by 25 square feet, we're able to grow about 20,000 to 30,000 tulips over a two- or three-month period.' Making tulips bloom early — tricking them into experiencing an early 'winter' by first cold-storing the bulbs until they root, then simulating spring by heating and lighting them — is an age-old practice, but it's seeing a 'renaissance,' said Kouvant. Her farm sells a five-week tulip-bouquet subscription that starts in February. The greenhouse conundrum This surge in the local growing of tulips doesn't solve every environmental problem, though, since many North American tulips are greenhouse-grown. If the greenhouses are highly automated and consume a lot of electricity that was generated by burning fossil fuels, the tulips can still be carbon-intensive, according to Rebecca Swinn, a U.K. researcher who published a carbon-life-cycle analysis for some U.K.-sold flowers and ran some rougher calculations on the U.S. market. Only 13 percent of Virginia's power, for example, is renewable. 'This factors in significantly,' she said. Still, after looking at the major growing states' power mixes, 'it is a fair assumption that U.S.A.-grown tulips would have lower overall emissions than roses imported from Colombia,' she said, adding that small-scale growers like Kouvant in Hudson Valley would have 'much lower emissions.' The math could still improve as big growers build on-site renewable energy. It's also getting more common for smaller American growers to force other spring flowers into bloom around Valentine's Day, including anemone, ranunculus and sweet peas, said John Dole, a horticulture professor at North Carolina State University. Think outside the bouquet Don't forget other gift ideas: candles, tickets to a show or — this can't fail — a handmade love letter. If you want longer-lasting flowers, you could gift dried or pressed arrangements. Or consider a spring flower subscription from a local farm, or a wintertime tulip one. (This map might help you find some nearby.) For foodies, maybe a bouquet you can eat? One high-end grocer has a 'radicchio not roses' campaign. But if a box of bitter produce would spoil the romance, all is not lost. Try buying tulips or another cool-weather flower, and take a minute to ask where they were grown. Try to skip the cellophane wrapping. And of course, compost that bouquet.
