Company
Stack AV
Stack AV is a Pittsburgh-based autonomous trucking company founded by Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, former Argo AI co-founders.
- Founded
- 2023
- HQ
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Status
- private
Appears inLogistics robots
Models
1
Overview
Stack AV is a Pittsburgh-based autonomous trucking company founded by Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, former Argo AI co-founders. Backed by SoftBank Group with $1B in total funding, Stack AV develops autonomous driving software for driverless trucks to improve efficiency and safety in freight transportation. The company leverages the founders' decade of autonomy experience from Carnegie Mellon and Argo AI.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- 2 incidents 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
Founded
September 2023, Pittsburgh, by Bryan Salesky, Peter Rander, Brett Browning (all ex-Argo AI)
Backing
SoftBank (reported commitment north of $1B; figure Bloomberg-sourced)
Status
Development-stage; emerged from stealth at ACT Expo May 2026 with a Peterbilt 579 (PACCAR collaboration). No verified driverless commercial freight; no named customers.
Focus
Level-4 autonomy for Class 8 long-haul
CEO
Bryan Salesky (Co-founder, ex-Argo AI)
Total funding
$1B (SoftBank Group)
Co-founder
Peter Rander (ex-Argo AI)
Data & sources
Press releases
1
News coverage
2
Web sources
7
10 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Stack AV on the deployment map
Where Stack AV's robots are verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
Relationships
Explainers
Plain-language answers to the questions people ask about Stack AV, from DEPLOY’s explainer library. Each is written in the language of the question and cross-checked against this registry.
- How do Bot Auto, Kodiak, and Einride compare for self-driving trucking?
Bot Auto, Kodiak AI, and Einride operate three structurally distinct autonomous-trucking strategies. Bot Auto runs Class 8 humanless commercial truckloads on Texas corridors via brokered freight (Houston-Dallas). Kodiak AI operates customer-owned driverless trucks at Atlas Energy's Permian Basin frac-sand operations. Einride runs autonomous electric cabless trucks under a private-road point-to-point commercial model (GE Appliances in Tennessee). Three operators, three different envelopes, three different commercial bets.
Current leadership (3)
- Bryan Salesky Co-founder & CEOIR-verified
- Peter Rander Co-founder & PresidentIR-verified
- Brett Browning Co-founder & CTOIR-verified
Founders (3)
- Bryan Saleskycofounderfounded 2022-11-01
- Peter Randercofounderfounded 2022-11-01
- Brett Browningcofounderfounded 2022-11-01
Safety record
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 →
Incidents affecting Stack AV (2)
- ADS crash report in Edgewood, NM involving a PETERBILT 579 (NHTSA SGO 34952-14990)2026-04-01 · Collision
- ADS crash report in Mount Pleasant, PA involving a PETERBILT 579 (NHTSA SGO 34952-11803)2025-09-01 · Collision
Includes incidents linked directly to this company, to its models, or to deployments of its models or under its operation. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Brains developed (1)
- Stack AV Autonomous Driving Systemfoundation-model · research
Recent coverage
Stack AV 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
- low
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.
Funding rounds (1)
- Launch funding (SoftBank)2023-09-07
Investors: SoftBank Vision Fund (lead)
Sources (10)
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907651841/en/Stack-AV-Launches-Autonomous-Trucking-Business-to-Revolutionize-the-Transportation-of-Goods
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-07/ford-volkswagen-self-driving-founders-start-autonomous-trucking-firm-stack
- https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/07/softbank-group-backs-former-argo-ai-founders-on-new-self-driving-trucks-startup/
- https://fortune.com/2023/09/07/softbank-backs-ai-startup-stack-av-as-it-tries-to-automate-trucking/
- https://www.freightwaves.com/news/qa-with-stack-av-autonomous-trucking-founder-bryan-salesky
- https://www.ttnews.com/articles/former-executives-stack-av
- https://www.ttnews.com/articles/autonomous-trucking-development
- https://www.truckinginfo.com/photo-galleries/autonomous-trucks-at-act-expo-2026
- https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/stack-av-unveils-new-autonomous-truck-after-years-stealth-mode/7JOYF7JJ3BBZFHCDVLZZRRA5F4/
- https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/autonomous-truck-program-to-begin-in-pittsburgh/
Common questions
- What is Stack AV?
- Stack AV is a Pittsburgh-based autonomous trucking company founded by Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, former Argo AI co-founders. Backed by SoftBank Group with $1B in total funding, Stack AV develops autonomous driving software for driverless trucks to improve efficiency and safety in freight transportation. The company leverages the founders' decade of autonomy experience from Carnegie Mellon and Argo AI.
- What does Stack AV make?
- Stack AV has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: Stack AV Autonomous Truck (Peterbilt 579) (Stack AV builds both physical robots and the AI that runs them).
- Is Stack AV publicly traded?
- No. Stack AV is privately held and not publicly traded, per the DEPLOY registry.
- Who competes with Stack AV?
- On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to Stack AV building in the same form factors include Tesla, Aurora Innovation, Waymo, Caterpillar.
- Where is Stack AV headquartered?
- Stack AV is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Where does Stack AV operate robots?
- Stack AV 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 Stack AV a top robotics company?
- On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, Stack AV ranks in roughly the top 56% of companies tracked by the registry.
- When was Stack AV founded?
- Stack AV was founded in 2023.
- Are there any incidents involving Stack AV?
- 2 active incidents involving Stack AV are on the DEPLOY registry. Each is a sourced, append-only record; retracted incidents are suppressed from this view.
- Is Stack AV safe?
- Stack AV has 2 active incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. 2 incidents on record (2 minor). Most recent: Apr 2026. Retracted incidents are excluded from this count.
Methodology: Verified · 10 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-06
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-06
Sources by quality tier
- 7
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 1
- primary-company-ir
- Company IR disclosure
- 1
- secondary-established-publication
- Established publication
- 1
- secondary-industry-publication
- Industry publication
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Stack AV.Peer companies
- Tesla4 models
- Aurora Innovation3 models
- Waymo3 models
- Caterpillar2 models
- Caterpillar Mining2 models
- Embark Trucks2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Stack AV from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/stack-av.md
- RSS feed: /companies/stack-av/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/1416ccb9-98f3-4375-add3-47ee2454a63e
- Revision history: /companies/stack-av/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
Reality vs attention
Stack AV draws attention at the 5th percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among truck robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Safety profile within acceptable range for category. Limited public visibility and press coverage relative to 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