Milestones
- First customer-owned driverless trucks delivered to AtlasJan 2025Complete.
- 35 driverless trucks in customer fleet30 Jun 2026Complete.
- Driverless long-haul highway launchTarget Dec 2026Current milestone.
Most important updates
- 15d ago
- 8 Sep 2026
- 13 Aug 2026
- Jan 2025
Upcoming
- Dec 2026Driverless long-haul highway launchin about 7 weeks (next)
Current obstacles
- Highway validationGoing from slow private roads to highway speeds and mixed traffic needs far more testing.
Physics limits
- Heavy trucks need long stopping distancesA loaded 80,000-lb truck at 65 mph needs about 160 m (525 ft) to stop, including reaction time. Sensors must spot small hazards well beyond that, where lidar returns are sparse.
- Mass multiplies crash energyKinetic energy grows with mass and the square of speed: a loaded truck carries ~18x the energy of a car at the same speed, and hard swerves risk jackknifing or rollover.
- Dust and spray foul sensorsDirt roads coat lenses and highway spray blurs them, so sensors need cleaning systems and the software must notice when its own view is degraded.
How it works
SensorPods
Sensors where mirrors go
Lidar, radar and cameras sit in swappable pods in place of the side mirrors, so a damaged pod can be replaced in minutes.
Retrofit
A kit for standard trucks
The system is added to standard heavy trucks with backup steering and braking control, rather than a purpose-built vehicle.
Oilfields first
Private roads, then highways
Driverless trucks haul frac sand on private Permian Basin roads, a simpler setting that builds experience before highways.
Update log
Fri 25 Sep
- Major: BlogCommercial
Tue 8 Sep
- Minor: BlogTest
Thu 13 Aug
- Minor: BlogRegulatory
Jan 2025
- Major: PressCommercial
About Kodiak AI
Kodiak AI
Driverless trucks, Permian Basin, long-haul
Kodiak AI makes self-driving systems for trucks. It has run driverless trucks for customers like Atlas Energy Solutions in the Permian Basin oilfield since early 2025 and is preparing driverless highway service. Listed on Nasdaq in Sept 2025.
- Customer-owned driverless fleet reached 35 trucks at the end of Q2 2026.
- Passed 40,000 total hours of paid driverless work.
- Aims to launch driverless long-haul trips by end of 2026.
- Founded
- 20188 yrs
- Headquarters
- United States
- Status
- Public
- Listed
- KDK (opens google.com)NASDAQ
- Valuation
- public
- Works in
- VehiclesSelf-driving trucks
- Coverage
- 1 program · 5 updateslatest 15d agochecked 25 Sep
- People
- Don BurnetteFounder and CEO