Company
Kodiak Robotics
Mountain View, CA-based autonomous trucking company founded in 2018 by Don Burnette (CEO), a former Waymo co-founder.
- Founded
- 2018
- HQ
- Mountain View, CA, USA
- Status
- public (NASDAQ: KDK via SPAC; $2.5B valuation)
Appears inLogistics robots
Funding
$125.0M
Models
1
Overview
Mountain View, CA-based autonomous trucking company founded in 2018 by Don Burnette (CEO), a former Waymo co-founder. Kodiak develops the Kodiak Driver autonomous driving system for long-haul freight, partnering with carriers like Uber Freight for scaled deployment. The company has raised 65M total including a 25M Series B from Battery Ventures and Bridgestone Americas.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
DEPLOY Intelligence
Market intelligence for physical AI
Analyst-grade signals, competitive tracking, and investment context across the global physical AI landscape. Launching 2026.
Key facts
CEO
Don Burnette
Total Funding
$165M
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Kodiak Robotics on the deployment map
Where Kodiak Robotics's robots are verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
Relationships
Claims ledger
Public, dated claims by Kodiak Robotics, each tracked against the evidence. Status is a DEPLOY assessment from primary sources: verified means an independent source confirms it; contradicted means one refutes it; open means the outcome is not yet determinable. Every entry keeps its verbatim quote and source so you can check the call yourself.
- Partly trueCapacity · claimed 2026-02-01 · deadline 2026-12-31
“They've done over 3 million km delivering real freight for IKEA and Tyson Foods. By end of 2026 they're going fully driverless on real highways”
3M+ km with real freight is verified (IKEA, Tyson Foods). Driverless operation confirmed in Permian Basin. "Fully driverless on real highways" beyond the Permian Basin has not been confirmed as of July 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/05/kodiak-taps-bosch-to-scale-its-self-driving-truck-tech/
- Partly trueTimeline · claimed 2026-01-01 · deadline 2026-12-31
“The company's aiming for a fully driverless long-haul freight operation by end of 2026”
Kodiak is already operating driverless in the Permian Basin for Atlas Energy Solutions. 100+ driverless deliveries completed. However, "fully driverless long-haul freight operation" implies broader deployment beyond the controlled Permian Basin routes. https://kodiak.ai/news/kodiak-delivers-customer-owned-autonomous-robotrucks-to-atlas
- VerifiedCapability · claimed 2026-01-01
“They said it wasn't possible, but we did it anyway”
Kodiak delivered first customer-owned driverless RoboTruck fleet to Atlas. 100+ driverless deliveries completed. Bosch partnership for scaling. The "did it" claim refers to driverless operation, which is verified. https://kodiak.ai/news/kodiak-delivers-customer-owned-autonomous-robotrucks-to-atlas
- VerifiedCapability · claimed 2026-01-01
“Kodiak's AI powers a unified virtual driver — built to handle highways, surface streets, and even off-road terrain”
Kodiak operates driverless on highways (Permian Basin). The USMC contract validates off-road capability. Surface street capability is claimed but less independently verified. https://kodiak.ai/technology
Disagree with a status? Kodiak Robotics can submit a correction with evidence and we log the response on the record. Methodology and the full industry ledger live at /stats/claim-integrity.
Current leadership (1)
- Don Burnette Co-Founder & CEOreported, not verified
Founders (1)
- Don Burnettecofounder
Safety record
No incidents on record for Kodiak Robotics.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Recent coverage
Kodiak Robotics in third-party press
Peer companies
- Tesla4 models
- Aurora Innovation3 models
- Waymo3 models
- Caterpillar2 models
- Caterpillar Mining2 models
- Embark Trucks2 models
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships (4)
- Kodiak AI x Atlas Energy Solutions 24/7 Driverless Fleet with Atlas Energy Solutionsdeployment
- Kodiak x US Marine Corps Autonomous Vehicle with U.S. Marine Corpsdeployment
- Kodiak AI x Bosch with Boschtechnology
- Kodiak Robotics x Atlas Energy Solutions with Atlas Energy Solutionsdeployment
Funding rounds (1)
- Series B2021-11-10
$125M(reported)
Investors: Battery Ventures, Bridgestone Americas, Gopher Assets
Sources (1)
Common questions
- What is Kodiak Robotics?
- Mountain View, CA-based autonomous trucking company founded in 2018 by Don Burnette (CEO), a former Waymo co-founder. Kodiak develops the Kodiak Driver autonomous driving system for long-haul freight, partnering with carriers like Uber Freight for scaled deployment. The company has raised 65M total including a 25M Series B from Battery Ventures and Bridgestone Americas.
- What does Kodiak Robotics make?
- Kodiak Robotics has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: Kodiak Driverless Truck (Kodiak Robotics builds physical robots).
- Is Kodiak Robotics publicly traded?
- Yes. Kodiak Robotics is publicly traded on public markets, per the DEPLOY registry.
- Who competes with Kodiak Robotics?
- On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to Kodiak Robotics building in the same form factors include Tesla, Aurora Innovation, Waymo, Caterpillar.
- Where is Kodiak Robotics headquartered?
- Kodiak Robotics is headquartered in Mountain View, CA, USA.
- How much funding has Kodiak Robotics raised?
- Kodiak Robotics has raised approximately $125M in disclosed funding on record in the DEPLOY registry.
- Where does Kodiak Robotics operate robots?
- Kodiak Robotics is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.
- Is Kodiak Robotics a top robotics company?
- On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, Kodiak Robotics ranks in roughly the top 48% of companies tracked by the registry.
- Is Kodiak Robotics safe?
- Kodiak Robotics has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-09
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-09
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Kodiak Robotics.Peer companies
- Tesla4 models
- Aurora Innovation3 models
- Waymo3 models
- Caterpillar2 models
- Caterpillar Mining2 models
- Embark Trucks2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Kodiak Robotics from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Roush Delivers First Kodiak AI Driver-Powered Truck to Atlas Energy Solutions
Kodiak AI and Roush announced the first Kodiak Driver-powered truck from Roush's production line, delivered to Atlas Energy Solutions for driverless logistics operations.
Autonomous Trucking Leaders Say Virtual Drivers Are Ready for Scale
Virtual driver moving from validation to commercial scale. OEM integration, customer operations, and AI-driven reliability advancing.
Kodiak AI Delivers First Customer-Owned Driverless RoboTrucks to Atlas
Kodiak AI and Atlas Energy Solutions achieved a historic milestone with the first-ever customer-owned autonomous RoboTruck fleet completing 100 deliveries in the Permian Basin.
Kodiak completes round-trip coast-to-coast autonomous truck run, seals new partnership
Kodiak completed round-trip coast-to-coast autonomous truck run. Sealed new freight partnership. Demonstrating long-haul autonomous capability.
Kodiak AI Delivers More Driverless Trucks to Atlas for 24/7 Use
Kodiak AI delivered two more autonomous trucks to Atlas Energy Solutions, expanding fleet to four and launching 24/7 driverless operations.
Kodiak AI: Unified virtual driver for highways, surface streets, and off-road
Kodiak's AI powers a unified virtual driver built to handle highways, surface streets, and off-road terrain. Multi-sensor architecture adapts across environments.
RBR50 Spotlight: Autonomous pickup truck could enhance U.S. military operations
Kodiak Robotics unveiled its first autonomous test vehicle for the U.S. military, a Ford F-150 pickup truck outfitted with the Kodiak Driver system for defense applications.
Driverless truck completes landmark delivery across Texas Highway
Driverless truck traveled 231 miles from Houston to Dallas. Landmark autonomous delivery.
Roush Delivers First Driverless Kodiak Driver-Equipped Autonomous Truck
Roush delivers the first Kodiak Driver-equipped autonomous truck from its production line, demonstrating Kodiak's ability to scale deployment.
BUILD America 250 Act: Creating a Federal Framework for Autonomous Commercial Vehicles
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the BUILD America 250 Act, a five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that includes federal safety…
Kodiak AI and Bosch Partner to Scale Autonomous Trucking Hardware
Kodiak announced a strategic agreement with Bosch to scale its autonomous trucking hardware and sensor solution for production deployment.
How Kodiak and Bosch Plan to Scale Autonomous Trucks
Kodiak Robotics and Bosch announced strategic partnership at CES 2026 to scale production-grade autonomous trucking hardware for North America.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/kodiak-robotics.md
- RSS feed: /companies/kodiak-robotics/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/719aff4f-6b15-4f2d-afcc-b8e09f2b7fa1
- Revision history: /companies/kodiak-robotics/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Tesla4 models
- Aurora Innovation3 models
- Waymo3 models
- Caterpillar2 models
- Caterpillar Mining2 models
- Embark Trucks2 models
Video
Every leap forward in history began with doubt. The Wright brothers. Electricity. The internet. They all heard the same line: “That’ll never work.” Now, it’s A
The Kodiak Driver constantly monitors every element of the truck, from engine status to tire pressure to all components of the self-driving system. Should anyth
What Happened To Werner and Kodiak Autonomous Truck Runs? In this video, Dave talks about the planned runs between Dallas and Lake City FL, by Werner and Kodiak
Don Burnette, Kodiak AI founder and CEO, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the potential benefits of AI powered trucking, how autonomous trucking technology works,
Don Burnette, Kodiak Robotics founder and CEO, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss his company's self-driving semi-trucks. For access to live and exclusive video fr
At Kodiak, our self-driving technology, the Kodiak Driver, is delivering a sharper vision for the future of trucking. About Kodiak: Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was f
Kodiak’s advanced autonomous technology is transforming logistics in the Permian Basin. Watch as Class 8 Trucks, equipped with the Kodiak Driver, deliver driver
KODIAK ROBOTICS, an autonomous, self driving semi truck company, has just completed their first load of Frac sand in the West Texas Oilfield. This is a big deal
Are you ready to share the road with massive semi-trucks cruising down the highways next to you without a human driver? Well, that is one step closer, thanks to
Discover ten amazing things about Kodiak Robotics, the autonomous trucking company disrupting the self-driving sector. Kodiak Robotics stands out for its focus
Autonomous trucking isn't just a software challenge. It's a manufacturing challenge too. Building self-driving trucks at scale requires disciplined production s
We're tackling the internet's burning questions about autonomous vehicles. Our series, "AV Q&A," kicks off with our very own David Silver, a thought leader in
Hyundai gets into the humanoid robot game (https://www.autonews.com/technology/an-ces-2026-hyundai-robotics-strategy-0105/) , joining Tesla, BMW and Mercedes. S
Kodiak Robotics is aiming to solve some of truckings greatest challenges. We caught up with Jordan Coleman at MOVE America to talk about future of autonomous tr
Reality vs attention
Kodiak Robotics draws attention at the 86th percentile but verifies reality at the 18th percentile among truck robots. Hype Gap +67.5, 1st widest among truck robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 1 verified deployment. Meaningful press and media coverage across the period. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Jul 14, 2026