Autonomous Truck Xos Going Public  🚛

Although we often think of futuristic robot taxis when we hear the word “autonomous vehicles,” the reality is that a large number of autonomous vehicle startups focus on commercial vehicles. In fact, the utilization of autonomous trucks on predictable routes between warehouses/mines to farms/factories is already realized and growing.
More importantly, we are seeing startups and OEMs fully invested in bringing autonomous trucks to long-haul routes, in order to transform the way goods and products are moved from warehouses to stores and address the increasing demand for first- to last-mile delivery as e-commerce continues to grow.

Photo Credit: Walmart

• Walmart is using fully driverless trucks in partnership with the startup Gatik for deliveries in Arkansas this year. The startup has already demonstrated capabilities through tested operations over 70,000 miles.
• UPS has been testing operations hauling cargo between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona with startup TuSimple, into which UPS has invested.
• Major truck maker Daimler Trucks acquired autonomous software maker Torc Robotics in 2019 and is working with Google's Waymo team on autonomous driving technology.

Autonomous Trucks Going Public
Aside from seeing autonomous trucks hitting the roads soon, another trend we are seeing is more autonomous truck startups going public via SPAC, or if you want to see it the other way, more SPACs are seeing the potential with autonomous trucks. Click here if you need a SPAC refresher.  

• Self-driving truck startup Plus.AI is rumored to be exploring going public via SPAC and is in talks with a few companies, according to Bloomberg.
• Electric vehicle chassis maker Xos Trucks announced it would merge with NextGen Acquisition Corp in February. NextGen had reportedly talked with many companies before deciding on Xos Truck.
• Electric Last Mile Solutions merged with SPAC Forum Merger III Corp in December 2020.
• Nikola Motor merged with SPAC VectoIQ in March 2020 but has had troubles since, accused by short-selling firm Hindenburg Research of technology fraud.
• Previously mentioned TuSimple had been rumored to go public via SPAC in late 2020 but has since decided to file confidentially for an IPO instead, with plans to go public this month.