U.S. startup Outrider raises $73 mln to scale up autonomous yard trucks

Mcf Energy

19/01/2023 11:00

By Nick Carey
       Jan 19 (Reuters) - U.S. self-driving truck firm Outrider
said on Thursday it has raised $73 million in funding to scale
up its autonomous trucks operating in distribution yards for
customers in e-commerce, manufacturing and other industries. 
    The Series C round includes funding from new investors
including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the
world's largest sovereign wealth funds, and the venture capital
arm of chip designer and computing firm Nvidia Corp  NVDA.O . 
    It also includes fresh funding from American venture capital
fund New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and the venture capital arm
of industrial conglomerate Koch Industries.
    Outrider has now raised a total of $191 million from
investors.
    Outrider says its self-driving yard truck "hitches to and
unhitches from trailers, robotically connects and disconnects
trailer brake lines, backs semi-trailers with precision,
interacts safely with loading docks, and keeps track of trailer
locations throughout the yard."
    The company says its customers represent more than 20% of
all yard trucks operating in North America, and have invested in
joint product testing and pilot operations since 2019. Yard
trucks are designed to move trailers and cargo containers in
distribution yards.
    Outrider said the funding will also go to further developing
autonomous technology and hiring staff in the United States and
internationally.
    While investor interest in startups related to robotaxi
firms has waned because truly self-driving cars on city roads
are many years away, companies offering simpler autonomous
solutions in more restricted environments are still raising
money.
    Last week self-driving software startup Oxbotica announced
it had raised $140 million from investors to speed the
deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in areas including heavy
industry, ports and airports.     
 (Reporting by Nick Carey in London
Editing by Matthew Lewis)
 ((nick.carey@thomsonreuters.com; +44 7385 414 954;))