Self-driving truck startup Gatik raises $200M following PepsiCo deal

Back Gatik , the autonomous vehicle startup known for its self-driving box trucks, has raised $200 million just two months after striking a multi-year commercial agreement with PepsiCo. The round was led The Santa Clara, California-based company has raised about $500 million since it came out of stealth in 2019. The company didn’t disclose its valuation.

The funding, the company’s largest to date, marks a new phase for Gatik as it evolves from a startup with a few pilot programs into a company that runs commercial driverless operations with multiple commercial customers across several cities. “These are all long-term investors,” Gatik co-founder and CEO Gautam Narang shared in a recent interview.

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Key Analysis and Detailed Timeline

“All the scale-up plans that we have and the growth that we have in mind for the next few years — these are the kind of financial partners that can help us.” The startup built a fleet of driverless box trucks that could be used to deliver food and beverages for suppliers — starting with fixed-route trips that were less than 10 miles, and growing to dynamic routes with dozens of pick-up and drop-off locations that cover up to 400 miles.

Gatik largely sits alone in this slice of the market, where it has become a dominant player in so-called “middle-mile” delivery. The company has several high-profile customers, including Canada’s Loblaw, Kroger and Tyson Foods. Its first customer, which was disclosed six years ago, was Walmart .

Last year, the company reached a critical technical and operational milestone that allowed it to pull the safety driver from behind the wheel on its commercial routes. Gatik now has dozens of self-driving trucks that are fully driverless and operate commercially across several markets. Importantly, they can operate in a variety of conditions and environments.

Broader Impact and Sector Outlook

“The technology has evolved and matured a lot over the last few years, especially with the latest generation of our tech,” Narang shared, noting that the company’s third-generation self-driving trucks operate around the clock on surface streets and highways, and can handle light rain and snow. Gatik wouldn’t share precise fleet numbers or name all of its customers.

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But its largest public partnership is with PepsiCo, in which 41 driverless box trucks shuttle Cheetos, Doritos, and other Frito-Lay products from distribution centers to stores in Dallas, Phoenix and Northwest Arkansas. That middle-mile niche has paid off for the Santa Clara, California-based startup. The company has locked in commercial deals worth $600 million in contracted revenue, according to Narang.

The fresh $200 million will allow Gatik to scale even faster — a goal that will require it to expand beyond its 350-person workforce. Narang shared the company plans to hire engineers and operational staff as well as expand to new markets, or within existing ones.

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