BMW i Ventures x Kodiak Robotics: Future of Self-driving Tech

Last week, BMW announced their investment in a leading developer of self-driving long-haul trucking technology, Kodiak Robotics. For the most part, it is a company that centres on trucking. However, it also appears that they have some of the best self-driving techs in the industry right now. This is regardless of the vehicle type. As a result, several giant companies started to flak around the tech developer, and one of them is the BMW i Ventures.

Even before that, the US-based tech start-up also acquired a considerably good investment from Bridgestone, a tire manufacturer. And so far, Kodiak Robotics already gathered some $40 million in Series A funding. With a team of autonomous driving veterans hailing from Google’s original self-driving team, Uber, Lyft and more, this company is set to do wonders.

They deliver freight daily in Texas and conducts tests in California. This tech start-up has already incorporated a myriad of autonomous trucking-specific innovations. It includes groundbreaking lightweight mapping technology, which allows real-time route updates, like road construction. This helps prevent halting freight deliveries. In January, Kodiak Robotics pioneered disengage-free customer deliveries in the autonomous trucking industry.

According to Kasper Sage of BMW i Ventures, “The Kodiak Driver proved to be one of the most advanced techs in autonomous trucking. They also continue to make progressive developments towards driverless deployment. From how it looks, self-driving trucks will be one of the first commercially viable applications of autonomous technology. And putting self-driving trucks with Kodiak is something we excitedly look forward to.”

“Developing Kodiak’s autonomous trucking technology is what we aim to do and our partnership with BMW i Ventures will surely accelerate its commercialization,” said Don Burnette, Kodiak’s CEO. “As one of the major investors in automotive technology, BMW i Ventures just fits Kodiak.”