Latest news with #KodiakRobotics
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Atlas Energy take delivery of two additional driverless trucks
Kodiak Robotics announced the delivery of two additional driverless trucks to Atlas Energy (AESI) and the launch of up to 24/7 driverless service, stopping only for things such as maintenance and refueling. Atlas now owns and operates four trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver, Kodiak's advanced AI-powered autonomous solution. The new Kodiak Driver-powered trucks entered service in late May. Since launching commercial operations with driverless trucks in December 2024, Atlas's Kodiak Driver-powered trucks have delivered over 800 loads and conducted over 1,600 hours of driverless service. In April, Kodiak announced that it had received a firm commitment from Atlas to order an initial total of 100 trucks, after Kodiak achieved certain key performance and operational milestones. Confident Investing Starts Here:
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Seeing Silicon: Can a self-driving car become a weapon?
Around the block from my home, I bumped into someone from Kodiak Robotics, a company that builds autonomous driving systems for trucks. Their 18-wheeler trucks come loaded with LiDAR, radar and cameras that give full 360-degree coverage, allowing for driverless rides on the freeway. 'So, what do you do at the company?' I asked him as he showed me around a truck. 'I stop this self-driving truck from becoming a weapon,' he replied. On a deeper level, we all know that software runs autonomous vehicles, but it kind of hit me in the face when the 12-volt battery in my electric car died in the middle of nowhere. I had just come back to my car after an early morning birdwatching session. As soon as I started the car, the screen flickered with a warning about low 12-volt battery and then went dead. The car refused to start. The car even refused to lock or do anything really. Even though the main battery was 80% full, thanks to the dead little 12-volt battery, my car had just become a container parked on the road. After I dealt with half-a-day of logistics and a long ride back home in a tow truck (all electrical and mechanical), I found out that the electric car I was driving was constantly trying to connect with an online network, even when the car was turned off. All electric vehicles, and especially autonomous ones, are kind of like a big device running on battery and software. They're connected to the internet and to their company's network. Through them, many third-party apps are also connected to your car. These apps ping the car to update the data they're collecting. Perhaps that's what happened to the rental I was driving – it tried to find this network, couldn't connect as there was no signal where it was parked and exhausted its operating battery in the process. Remote hacking is one of the biggest risks of a software-enabled car. In 2015, two researchers wirelessly hacked into a Jeep Cherokee, taking control of the entertainment system, the windshield wipers and then disabling the accelerator before killing the engine. It was the most dramatic show of cybersecurity demonstration in increasingly software-dependent vehicles and led to improvement in automotive cybersecurity in the US. But this was ten years ago. Now cars are increasingly pinging and giving away information to their manufacturers and to third-part companies – even when they're not switched on. Our cars know our location as they collect GPS data, some also link payment cards to our accounts. You can open your car with your phone, call it to where you're standing in a parking lot and you can also ask it to remotely start the aircon. All these conveniences can become potential pathways vulnerabilities and back doors. Autonomous vehicles – which also had additional software and iOT devices – take this to the next level. Hackers can manipulate inputs to sensors (radar, cameras or LiDAR) that autonomous vehicles depend on and deceive the vehicle. Third-party software, firmware or hardware components can bring in unknown vulnerabilities. Then there's data privacy – that favourite bane of our existence. Autonomous cars collect a lot of our data – location, biometrics, passenger behaviour – that can be hacked and used in malicious ways. Somewhere the technology companies who are pushing these software are aware of its vulnerabilities. According to a 2024 report by Fairfield Market Research, the automotive cybersecurity market is projected to grow from US3.7 billion in 2024 to US$21.42 billion. Key drivers include government regulations, rollout of 5G technology integration and rising vehicle connectivity. Autonomous vehicles have become a normal around where I live in Silicon Valley. Through the week, as I drove alongside empty Waymo Ones (The autonomous robotaxi is now doing more than 2,50,000 rides a week in the US). More cities in the US are preparing for Waymo launches, while Amazon's Zoox and Tesla's Cybercab are ready to be deployed in different parts of the country. I started to wonder what would happen if they were all to be hacked together. The words of the cybersecurity expert from Kodiak ring in my head. I'm used to software in my devices – in my laptop, desktop, tablet, and phones. I'm also quite used to the fact that any of these can be hacked. I'm not used to my car becoming out of my control. Don't get me wrong. I love software-enabled technological in cars. Features like adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, and automatic breaking bring joy to driving. But I'm old enough to also remember hacked laptops, crashed systems. Autonomous cars basically software on wheels. And software can be hacked. Shweta Taneja is an author and journalist based in the Bay Area. Her fortnightly column will reflect on how emerging tech and science are reshaping society in Silicon Valley and beyond. Find her online with @shwetawrites. The views expressed are personal.
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
15-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Kodiak Robotics going public via SPAC
The rumors were true and the SPAC is back. Kodiak Robotics announced Monday it has entered into an agreement with Ares Acquisition Corp. II (AACT), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company that will make Kodiak a publicly listed company valued at around $2.5 billion. The combined company will be named Kodiak AI Inc. New and existing institutional investors for Kodiak include Soros Fund Management, ARK Investments and Ares. They have funded or committed to over $110 million in financing in addition to approximately $551 million in cash, held in trust. Rumblings about the deal were announced last month by Bloomberg, with the blank check firm AACT led by David Kaplin having raised $450 million in April 2023. Prior to founding Kodiak Robotics in 2018, Don Burnette had previously worked for Google's self-driving car project before it became Waymo. Burnette left Google after five years to found Otto, a self-driving truck startup later acquired by Uber. 'This is a remarkable milestone for the Kodiak team and reinforces our confidence in the significant value proposition we see in our differentiated driverless technology,' said Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak in a news release. '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.' Kodiak boasts a first-to-market fully active driverless truck operation from its partnership with Atlas Energy Solutions operating in the Permian Basin. Kodiak announced in January it had completed the delivery of 100 loads of proppant with two RoboTrucks equipped with Kodiak Driver, Kodiak's self-driving system. The Kodiak-powered Atlas trucks have over 750 hours of commercial driverless operations with further support inbound via a firm commitment by Atlas for an initial order of 100 trucks. '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. 'We are excited to partner with Don and the Kodiak team as they seek to further capitalize on significant industry tailwinds and deliver value for their stakeholders.' Kodiak's business model works via a Driver-as-a-Service business model. Customers use Kodiak-equipped RoboTrucks and are charged either a per-truck or per-mile recurring license fee. In the case of Atlas, Kodiak owns and operates autonomous trucks, and Atlas pays as a fee per delivery by the trucks. The release notes that in addition to Atlas, Kodiak has collaborated with companies including Bridgestone, C.R. England, J.B. Hunt, Martin Brower and Werner Enterprises. Besides truckload operations, Kodiak has a Department of Defense contract for approximately $30 million to adapt its autonomous technology for U.S. Army vehicles. The autonomous freight space is projected to be lucrative. While Kodiak primarily operates in the Sunbelt, the company estimates that there is 'a roughly $1 trillion market opportunity in the U.S. alone, with the potential for a total global addressable market of over $4 trillion.' The post Kodiak Robotics going public via SPAC appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Kodiak Robotics to go public in SPAC deal valuing firm at $2.5 billion
(Reuters) - Autonomous truck technology firm Kodiak Robotics said on Monday it plans to go public in the U.S. later this year through a merger with blank-check company Ares Acquisition Corp II, valuing Kodiak at $2.5 billion. The combined entity, which will be called Kodiak AI, would also receive about $551 million of cash held in Ares Acquisition's trust account upon closing, the companies said. The deal has also secured commitments and investments of over $110 million from investors, including Soros Fund Management, ARK Investments and Ares Management. Founded in 2018, Kodiak specializes in developing self-driving technology for trucks and generates recurring revenue through autonomous trucking operations in the Permian Basin, delivering goods for U.S. customers. Earlier this year, the company successfully delivered its first autonomous trucks, termed "RoboTrucks," to oilfield services firm Atlas Energy Solutions, which has committed to an initial order of 100 trucks. The Mountain View, California-based company said its self-driving software has logged over 2.6 million miles in real-world conditions. Kodiak's growth comes at a time when companies are increasingly looking to reduce transportation and logistics costs amid driver shortages and heightened demand for expedited deliveries. "Entering the public markets will ... 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," Kodiak Founder and CEO Don Burnette said. The merger is expected to close in the second half of 2025, and the company's common stock will trade under the ticker symbol "KDK". Kodiak did not specify which stock exchange it would be listed on. Blank-check companies, also known as special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), allow private companies to go public through merger transactions, often with accelerated timelines.
