Gatik AI secures $200 million in latest funding round, pushing autonomous trucking toward commercial scale

Autonomous trucking startup Gatik AI Inc. has closed a $200 million funding round led by Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies, marking its largest investment round to date. The round brings the company’s total funding to approximately $500 million as it scales autonomous freight operations with major retail and food customers including Walmart, Kroger, Tyson Foods, PepsiCo, and Loblaw Cos. CEO Gautam Narang emphasized that the investment underscores growing confidence in commercially viable autonomous trucking, positioning the company to expand routes and accelerate customer adoption. The funding round also included Millennium Management, ARK Invest, and Intact Private Capital. Gatik operates driverless freight trucks in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, and Northwest Arkansas regions, running nearly 24 hours a day to transport ambient, refrigerated, and frozen goods between distribution centers and stores. The company also runs trucks with a safety driver in Ontario, Canada. Narang noted that sophisticated investors typically engage once a business model is proven and economics are validated, signaling that autonomous trucking is transitioning from experimentation to highway deployment. In January, Gatik reported signed contracts worth $600 million in revenue over five years, though the company did not disclose whether it is profitable or provide an updated backlog figure. The investment reflects broader momentum in the autonomous vehicle (AV) sector as more shipments are completed without incident and investor confidence grows.