Autonomous Truck Developer Kodiak AI Goes Public
Nasdaq Listing After SPAC Merger Values Kodiak at $2.5 Billion
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Kodiak AI went public Sept. 25 after the self-driving truck developer’s merger with special purpose acquisition company Ares Acquisition Corp. II.
Formerly known as Kodiak Robotics, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s common stock and public warrants will trade under the ticker symbols KDK and KDKRW, respectively, on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Kodiak executives and shareholders rang the Nasdaq bell at the opening of the market Sept. 25.
AACT shareholders approved the merger Sept. 23. The SPAC is affiliated with Ares Management Corp., a New York-based investment firm with $572 billion in assets under management.
After the merger, Kodiak is now valued at about $2.5 billion. Kodiak will receive more than $212.5 million from institutional investors as a result of the merger.
“The transportation industry faces growing challenges, including safety risks, rising costs and driver shortages,” Kodiak CEO Don Burnette said. “Going public with the support of our partners at AACT marks an important step in Kodiak’s journey to help transform how freight moves by providing our driverless solution to customers.”
Kodiak CEO Don Burnette at the Nasdaq headquarters at Times Square in New York on Sept. 25. (Kodiak AI)
AACT Chief Operating Officer Allyson Satin added: “When we launched AACT, we set out to find a differentiated business primed for commercial growth and well-positioned to enter the public markets. Kodiak has distinguished itself through its innovative technology, which is already integrated into customer fleets and utilized for daily, revenue-generating driverless freight operations.”
Upfitted Trucks Roll Off Roush Production Line
Kodiak sells its self-driving technology — Kodiak Driver — through a driver-as-a-service model, with fleets paying a per-mile or per-vehicle licensing fee to access trucks and support.
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At the moment, Kodiak Driver is being retrofitted to trucks, unlike the products of peers, such as Aurora Innovation, ý and Plus, which install their products on specifically designed tractors at truck makers’ assembly plants.
The Kodiak trucks are upfitted in Livonia, Mich., by Roush Industries. Roush delivered the first upfitted truck to Kodiak’s biggest customer, Atlas Energy Solutions, in August.
Bulk carrier Atlas — which delivers proppant on private roads in western Texas and New Mexico — has taken delivery of eight driverless trucks so far as part of an initial 100-truck order.
Roush and Kodiak hope to scale production up to hundreds of trucks by the end of 2026, Kodiak said.
A Kodiak AI-equipped Atlas Energy Solutions bulk transporter. (Kodiak AI)
Meanwhile, to aid on-the-road customers traversing public roads, Kodiak signed a deal with remote driving specialist Vay in June.
Vay’s remote driving setup — known as Vay Station — is to be integrated with Kodiak’s Assisted Autonomy system.
Assisted Autonomy enables a Kodiak team member to remotely control a truck during low-speed and clearly defined scenarios, such as entering or leaving a customer’s facility or interacting with first responders. With the integration, Kodiak drivers will sit at Vay Stations that feature a steering wheel, pedals and other vehicle controls.
Berlin-based Vay is best known in the U.S. for remotely driven cars for rental customers in Las Vegas, a rideshare experience distinctly different from that offered by market leaders Uber Freight parent Uber Inc. or Lyft.
Atlas’ trucks operate fully driverless on the private roads of the Permian Basin.
Another SPAC Merger Set for Q4
Kodiak peer Plus also is set to go public after inking a merger with Nasdaq-listed SPAC Churchill Capital Corp IX. The deal is expected to close in the final quarter of 2025.
A Plus AI autonomous truck. (John Sommers II for Transport Topics)
Merging with an affiliate of the same investment group that took electric automaker Lucid Motors public is Plus’ second attempt to go public.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Plus in 2021 announced plans to list via a merger with Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V in a deal that valued the company at $3.3 billion. But that combination was dissolved in November 2021.
Teaming up with Churchill, a SPAC controlled by former investment banker Michael Klein, will put a valuation of $1.2 billion on Plus. The combined entity will be known as PlusAI.
PlusAI is aiming for commercial launch of factory-built autonomous trucks in 2027 and has partnered with Traton Group’s International, Scania and MAN truck brands as well as Iveco and Hyundai Motor Co.
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