Gatik Raises $200M Following Partnership with PepsiCo for Autonomous Trucking Solutions

Gatik, an autonomous vehicle startup acclaimed for its self-driving box trucks, has successfully raised $200 million just two months after inking a multi-year commercial deal with PepsiCo.

This funding round was led by the Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies, with participation from Millennium Management, ARK Invest, and Intact Private Capital. Located in Santa Clara, California, Gatik has amassed nearly $500 million since it came out of stealth mode in 2019. The company has yet to disclose its current valuation.

As Gatik enters a new chapter with its largest funding round to date, it shifts from a startup conducting limited pilot programs to a firm overseeing commercial driverless operations for multiple clients across different cities.

“These investors are committed for the long haul,” stated Gatik co-founder and CEO Gautam Narang in a recent interview. “The scale-up plans and growth we anticipate for the coming years require financial partners that can truly support us.”

For Narang, scaling involves adding more driverless trucks, broadening customer bases, and venturing into new cities — ultimately extending operations beyond North America.

Gatik has carved out a unique niche in the fast-growing and competitive autonomous vehicle industry. While many startups and well-funded tech companies have targeted sidewalk delivery robots, robotaxis, long-haul self-driving trucks, or autonomous equipment for construction and mining, Gatik has focused on short-haul delivery.

The startup has created a fleet of driverless box trucks, manufactured by Isuzu Motors, designed for food and beverage deliveries. Initially, the trucks operated fixed-route trips of under 10 miles, but they have since evolved to operate dynamic routes with multiple pickup and drop-off points covering up to 400 miles.

In the “middle-mile” delivery sector, Gatik has emerged as a prominent player, serving notable clients such as Canada’s Loblaws, Kroger, and Tyson Foods. Its first major customer, revealed six years ago, was Walmart.

Last year was pivotal for the company, marking a significant technical and operational milestone that allowed it to eliminate the safety driver from its commercial routes. Gatik now operates numerous fully driverless trucks commercially across multiple markets, capable of navigating a variety of conditions.

“The technology has significantly progressed over the past few years, especially with our latest generation of tech,” Narang mentioned, emphasizing that the third-generation self-driving trucks can operate around the clock on surface streets and highways and can manage light rain and snow.

While Gatik has not disclosed specific fleet numbers or the full list of clients, its largest public partnership involves PepsiCo, utilizing 41 driverless box trucks to transport Cheetos, Doritos, and other Frito-Lay products from distribution centers to stores in Dallas, Phoenix, and Northwest Arkansas.

This focus on the middle-mile segment has proven advantageous for the Santa Clara-based startup, which has secured commercial agreements that total $600 million in contracted revenue, according to Narang.

The new $200 million will further enable Gatik to enhance its growth, requiring expansion beyond its current workforce of 350 employees. Narang indicated intentions to hire engineers and operations staff, as well as to explore new markets or deepen penetration in existing ones.