Gatik plans to scale its driverless freight operations from dozens of trucks to thousands after closing a $200 million Series D round led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), according to FreightWaves.
Series D round and investor lineup
Gatik raised $200 million in a Series D round led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT). Millennium Management, ARK Invest and Intact Private Capital also joined, with Millennium Management and ARK Invest both better known for public-market investing, according to FreightWaves. KDT first invested in Gatik in 2021. QIA is the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, established in 2005, and its lead position puts state capital behind a U.S. driverless freight operator, FreightWaves reported.
"Autonomous freight is transforming the global logistics industry, making it more efficient and reliable," said Abdulla Al-Kuwari, head of industrials at QIA, in the FreightWaves report. "QIA is committed to supporting next-generation solutions providers like Gatik that are shaping the future of freight infrastructure."
Byron Knight, president of KDT, said: "What we’re seeing today is autonomy moving beyond a promising technology into real-world commercial operations. Gatik has demonstrated a practical approach to that transition, and we look forward to supporting the company’s continued growth."
Driverless order growth and performance metrics
Gatik has completed 85,000 fully driverless orders to date, and reports 99% on-time delivery across operations in Texas, Arizona, Arkansas and Canada, according to FreightWaves. The company also reports more than $600 million in contracted revenue. Seven months of driverless operations added 25,000 orders to that total; Gatik had reported 60,000 completed driverless orders in January, FreightWaves noted. Gatik had raised roughly $270 million in total before this round, Forbes reported in January, according to FreightWaves.
| Metric | Reported in January | Reported now |
|---|---|---|
| Completed driverless orders | 60,000 | 85,000 |
| Orders added since January | — | 25,000 |
| Contracted revenue | More than $600M | More than $600M |
Commercial operations and customer lanes
Gatik's trucks run high-frequency regional routes between distribution centers and stores, reaching up to 400 miles at highway speeds and running nearly around the clock, FreightWaves reported. The system is purpose-built for both highways and surface streets, and uses dynamic routing to respond to shifting demand, distribution center activity and pickup and drop-off needs. These lanes are time-sensitive and operationally complex, and the 99% on-time figure benefits retail planners as routes replenish store shelves on fixed windows, according to FreightWaves.
Gatik already moves freight for PepsiCo across roughly 250 retail locations in Texas, Arizona and Arkansas; PepsiCo announced the multi-year agreement in June, FreightWaves reported.
"Autonomous trucking should meaningfully lower the cost of transporting goods and reshape modern supply chains," said Tasha Keeney, director of research for autonomous technology and robotics at ARK Invest. "Gatik is leading this transformation by bringing driverless technology to regional networks and unlocking value for customers."
Gautam Narang, CEO and co-founder of Gatik: This round, led by some of the world’s leading financial institutions, is a clear validation of Gatik’s commercial leadership in autonomous freight. We have built Gatik with real revenue, deep customer demand, and AI-driven autonomous technology proven every day in live supply chains. This round gives us the capital to scale with speed and discipline, serve the world’s largest companies, and define the future of autonomous freight.
Watch list
- Production scaling: Gatik plans to mass-produce its trucks with Isuzu at a South Carolina plant expected to come online in late 2027, FreightWaves reported.
- Fleet growth: The Series D capital is earmarked for expanding driverless operations from dozens of trucks today to thousands in the years ahead.
- Order momentum: With 25,000 new driverless orders added in seven months, order volume is a key metric to track as Gatik scales regional freight operations.
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