Kodiak Announces Delivery of Two Additional Customer-Owned and -Operated Driverless Trucks to Atlas; Launches Driverless Service Up To 24/7
- Successful delivery of 2 additional driverless trucks, expanding Atlas's autonomous fleet to 4 vehicles
- Large commercial commitment with firm order of 100 trucks from Atlas
- Proven operational success with over 800 loads and 1,600 hours of driverless service since December 2024
- Capability to operate 24/7, maximizing operational efficiency
- Recurring revenue model through Driver as a Service licensing fees
- Significant dependency on a single customer (Atlas) for commercial deployment
- Limited operational scope currently focused only on the Permian Basin region
- Technology still requires stops for maintenance and refueling, affecting true 24/7 operations
Insights
Kodiak's autonomous truck deployment with Atlas demonstrates real commercial traction with 100-truck order and proven 24/7 operations capability.
Kodiak Robotics has hit significant commercial milestones with its autonomous trucking technology, delivering two more driverless trucks to Atlas Energy Solutions, bringing Atlas's autonomous fleet to four vehicles. These trucks are part of a 100-truck order Atlas placed after Kodiak met specific performance targets, representing one of the largest commercial autonomous vehicle deployments to date.
The operational data is particularly compelling - Atlas's Kodiak-powered fleet has already delivered over 800 loads and logged more than 1,600 hours of driverless service since December 2024. The advancement to 24/7 operation capability (limited only by maintenance and refueling) marks a crucial technical achievement, as night driving has been a significant challenge for autonomous systems.
Atlas is deploying these trucks in the harsh Permian Basin environment for transporting frac sand from its Dune Express conveyor system to customer well sites, addressing driver recruitment challenges while improving operational efficiency. This real-world application in demanding conditions demonstrates the technology's robustness.
Kodiak's business model is notable - they're offering a "Driver as a Service" model with per-mile or per-vehicle licensing fees, creating a recurring revenue stream while allowing customers to own the vehicles. This approach potentially accelerates adoption by lowering initial barriers while building sustainable long-term revenue.
The expanding deployment in industrial logistics provides Kodiak valuable operational experience that can transfer to highway applications, potentially accelerating their broader commercial roadmap while generating immediate revenue.
With the delivery of these new trucks, Atlas Energy Solutions now owns and operates a fleet of four driverless trucks equipped with Kodiak's technology, with more expected in 2025
Atlas's fully driverless trucks are now capable of operating up to 24/7
The two new Kodiak Driver-powered trucks are part of a 100-truck order placed by Atlas as the company seeks to automate its supply chain. The driverless trucks pick up frac sand from Atlas's Dune Express, a 42-mile conveyor system that carries the sand from Atlas's mine closer to well sites. From there, the driverless trucks transport the sand to Atlas's customer well sites across in the Permian Basin, which spans parts of
"Our initial rollout of Kodiak Driver-powered driverless trucks represents a significant operational milestone in our autonomous strategy, creating a clear path to continue scaling our businesses together," said John Turner, President and CEO, Atlas Energy Solutions. "Kodiak's autonomous technology can meaningfully help us address challenges ranging from driver recruitment to demanding operating conditions. We plan to continue adding Kodiak Driver-powered trucks to our fleet helping to strengthen our long-term competitiveness."
Since launching commercial operations with driverless trucks in December 2024, Atlas's Kodiak Driver-powered trucks have delivered over 800 loads and conducted over 1,600 hours of driverless service. In April, Kodiak announced that it had received a firm commitment from Atlas to order an initial total of 100 trucks, after Kodiak achieved certain key performance and operational milestones.
Kodiak offers its Kodiak Driver-powered trucks under a Driver as a Service model, where customers pay a per-mile or per-vehicle licensing fee that covers driverless operations and ongoing system support, with its trucks delivering day and night in most weather conditions.
"We continue to make rapid progress on the Kodiak Driver's core technology, enabling such critical features as night driving, " said Don Burnette, Founder and CEO of Kodiak. "Our work with Atlas demonstrates the Kodiak Driver's ability to provide value to commercial trucking customers. We believe the driverless operational experience we're gaining in the Permian Basin will position us to more efficiently scale our driverless operations across domains, including on-highway."
About Kodiak Robotics, Inc.
Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and is a leading provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology that is designed to help tackle some of the toughest driving jobs. Kodiak's driverless solution can help address the critical problem of safely transporting goods in the face of unprecedented supply chain challenges. Kodiak's vision is to become the trusted world leader in autonomous ground transportation. Kodiak is committed to a safer and more efficient future for all through the commercialization of driverless trucking at scale. To that end, Kodiak developed the Kodiak Driver, a virtual driver that combines advanced AI-powered software with modular and vehicle-agnostic hardware designed to help address Kodiak's customers' needs. The Kodiak Driver is not just an idea—it is operating without a human driver today. Kodiak serves customers in both commercial trucking and the public sector. In 2024, Kodiak believes it achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first company to deploy customer-owned and -operated driverless trucks in commercial service. The Kodiak Driver is also being utilized in the public sector, where Kodiak believes it can support national security initiatives and critical government applications.
About Atlas Energy Solutions
Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE: AESI) is a leading solutions provider to the energy industry. Atlas's portfolio of offerings includes oilfield logistics, distributed power systems, and the largest proppant supply network in the Permian Basin. With a focus on leveraging technology, automation, and remote operations to enhance efficiencies, Atlas is centered on core mission of improving human access to the hydrocarbons that power our lives and, by doing so, maximizing value creation for our shareholders.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release includes forward-looking statements relating to Kodiak's and Atlas's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the ability of Kodiak and Atlas to scale their businesses together; the ability of Kodiak's to help address certain challenges facing Atlas's business and improve Atlas's competitiveness; and Kodiak's ability to efficiently scale its business. These statements are based on various assumptions and on the current expectations of Kodiak's or Atlas's management, as applicable, and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes in business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; the rapid evolution of autonomous vehicle technology and flaws or errors in Kodiak's solutions or flaws in or misuse of autonomous vehicle technology in general; the effects of competition; supply shortages in the materials necessary for the production of the Kodiak Driver; risks related to working with third-party manufacturers for key components of the Kodiak Driver; risks related to the retrofitting of Kodiak's vehicles by third parties; and the termination or suspension of any of Kodiak's contracts or the reduction in counterparty spending, including with Atlas.
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SOURCE Kodiak Robotics
FAQ
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