Self-Driving Truck Company Gets More Investment, Expanding

Self-driving company Gatik has announced another strategic investment that will be used to accelerate the rollout of its technology across the United States.

Tokyo-based logistics giant Nippon Express Holdings (NX Group) is the latest Japanese company to back the Silicon Valley startup, following confirmation of two other major partnerships over the past several months.

In June, it was disclosed that Gatik would be forming a strategic alliance with ITOCHU, one of the country’s leading trading and investment companies.

This followed a collaboration with Isuzu that was announced a month earlier, with the Yokohama-based commercial vehicle manufacturer investing more than $30 million into Gatik.

It is not known how much the NX Group investment is worth, with Gatik declining to disclose specific figures. But a spokesman said it was “significant,” and would be used to help increase the momentum the firm has built in establishing its autonomous products and services in the middle-mile sector of the supply chain.

The company has made major progress over the past several years by deploying its Class 3 to 7 autonomous box trucks on routes between distribution centers, fulfillment centers and retail locations, which it says are often overlooked.

Its trucks are currently operating commercially in multiple markets, including Texas, Arkansas and Ontario, with deals having been set up with Walmart, Pitney Bowes and Georgia Pacific.

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In Texas, for example, Gatik late last year launched an autonomous delivery service with Kroger, in which goods are distributed from a customer fulfillment center in Dallas to retail locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The routes are typically about 20 miles long, and by replacing bigger trucks typically driven by human drivers with its autonomous products, Gatik has been able to provide faster deliveries due to reduced loading times.

In the longer term, freight-only deliveries, which do not need human operators on board, are expected to become the norm.

The focus on shorter, fixed, repeatable routes has allowed Gatik to commercialize its technology more rapidly than has been the case with long-haul products, which have higher regulatory challenges to negotiate, as well as less predictable driving conditions.

Gatik’s latest investment was hailed by CEO and co-founder Gautam Narang, who said: “Our investment partnership with NX Group is a testament to the impact we’re making in North America and the confidence of global partners in our ability to meet the evolving needs of our customers.

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“Middle-mile autonomy is undoubtedly the first application in autonomous trucking to achieve scale in commercial applications. It’s also critical for solving the most pressing logistics issues businesses are facing today—ensuring faster deliveries, addressing growing labor shortages, reducing costs, and meeting the rising demand for goods in this era of rapid e-commerce growth.”

With more Gatik autonomous trucks set to be rolled out on the roads, the company is also planning to open a dedication manufacturing facility in partnership with Isuzu, at a location still to be announced, which would start operations in 2027.