Gatik today announced that it has raised $85 million in Series B funding. The company said it plans to continue developing its technology, scale its fleet of autonomous box trucks across North America, and hire more employees. In addition, Gatik said it is expanding its operations in Texas.
“With our exclusive focus on structured autonomy, we have unlocked lower costs; shorter delivery times; and sustainable, reliable capacity for our customers today,” stated Gautam Narang, co-founder and CEO of Gatik. “Our long-term partnerships with the world’s largest retailers, strategic relationships with OEMs, and fleet servicing and maintenance partners have allowed us to address critical supply chain challenges and build an industry-defining business. With this financing, we are ideally positioned to commercialize our solution at scale.”
Founded in 2017 by autonomous technology veterans, Gatik has offices in Palo Alto, Calif., and Toronto. The company focuses on short-haul, business-to-business (B2B) logistics for Fortune 500 retailers. Gatik said its fleet of Class 3 to 6 autonomous trucks are already generating revenue in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Ontario.
Since its Series A financing in November 2020, the company has launched new electric trucks with Walmart and partnered with Isuzu to implement OEM-grade redundancies for medium-duty trucks critical for fully autonomous operations.
Gatik expands operations
Gatik noted that its expansion to Texas is the fourth market in which it has deployed its fleet for retail customers, following the success of its operations with Walmart in Arkansas and Louisiana and with Loblaw Cos. in Ontario, Canada.
The company has opened a new facility in Fort Worth that will serve as a hub for its operations in Texas. Gatik said it will enable new and existing customers to take advantage of reduced supply chain costs, operational efficiencies, and faster deliveries.
Texas’ high-density market is ideally suited for goods movement in a multi-tenancy capacity, said Gatik. The company claimed that its self-driving trucks operate over 20 hours a day, seven days a week. This increases vehicle utilization and further maximizes profit margins and supply chain efficiency for multiple customers, it said.
“Dallas-Fort Worth is internationally recognized as one of the world’s leading logistics centers in terms of innovation, sophisticated infrastructure and a highly-skilled workforce,” said Narang. “Combined with a dense customer base, a progressive and well-structured regulatory environment, and an ideal climate, bringing the advantages of our middle-mile solution to customers in the Texas ecosystem was a very natural next step for us.”
In response to intensifying e-commerce demand, Gatik said it has deployed 20-ft. and 26-ft. multi-temperature autonomous vehicles for safe and sustainable deliveries.
Texas to gain jobs with automation
Gatik said it expects to create over 500 new jobs by 2025, including operational, technical, and business roles. To support its expansion in the state, the company has partnered with the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone (MIZ).
Hillwood said its AllianceTexas 27,000-acre development includes the world’s first dedicated industrial airport, Fort Worth Alliance Airport. AllianceTexas is home to more than 525 companies, which have built more than 50 million sq. ft. and created over 62,000 jobs.
“Gatik is the perfect partner for Hillwood in our efforts to accelerate emerging mobility technologies within the MIZ,” said Ross Perot, Jr., chairman of Hillwood. “As Gatik leads the way in autonomous middle-mile delivery, [its] commitment to the MIZ will continue to position AllianceTexas as a global focal point in the commercialization of budding logistics solutions.”
“Texas continues to thrive as a place of unlimited economic opportunity, and we are proud to welcome a cutting-edge company like Gatik to Fort Worth,” said Greg Abbott, governor of Texas.
“Gatik’s expansion into Texas comes at a time when demand for autonomous middle-mile delivery has surpassed even the most confident predictions,” added Narang. “Rising costs, unreliable service levels, and an increasingly pronounced driver shortage within traditional logistics networks have spurred overwhelming demand for Gatik’s autonomous technology.”
Koch leads investment
Gatik said its Series B round was heavily oversubscribed and brings the total amount it has raised to $114.5 million. Koch Disruptive Industries (KDT) led the round. Existing investors Innovation Endeavours, Wittington Ventures, FM Capital, Dynamo Ventures, Trucks VC, Intact Ventures and others also participated.
Several strategic investors also joined the round, and all of them expect to contribute their expertise to advance Gatik’s mission, said the company.
“The logistics industry is experiencing unprecedented disruption driven by the explosive growth of ecommerce, and demand for more efficient goods movement,” said Chase Koch, president of KDT. “Nowhere is this more pronounced than on the middle mile. Gatik’s transformational autonomous technology and world-class team are defining the standard in B2B short-haul logistics by addressing the most prominent issues facing today’s supply chain. We believe Gatik will be the first to commercialize autonomous technology at scale for the North American medium-duty trucking market.”
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