The verified answer
As of Aug 2026, DEPLOY verifies Starsky Robotics: 1 model. 3 sources back the record.
CategoryTrucks
Overview
Starsky Robotics was an autonomous trucking company based in San Francisco, California, that developed a hybrid system combining highway autonomy with remote human teleoperation for last-mile navigation. Founded in 2016 by Stefan Seltz-Axmacher and Kartik Tiwari, the company conducted the first driverless freight run on a public highway—a 9.4-mile trip on the Florida Turnpike in June 2019 with no safety driver. Starsky ceased operations in March 2020 after a $20M Series B fell through, citing declining investor enthusiasm for AV technology and slower-than-expected technical progress.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Key facts
CEO
Co-founder
Total fundingsee investors →
First driverless freight run
Shutdown date
Autonomy level
Notable investor
Partnership
Data & sources
News coverage
1
Web sources
2
3 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Starsky Robotics on the deployment map
View the global mapStarsky Robotics has no verified deployments on the DEPLOY registry yet. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
No verified deployments for Starsky Robotics on the DEPLOY record yet. Track Starsky Robotics to know the moment the first one is verified.
Relationships
Former / Previously (2)
- Stefan Seltz-Axmacher Co-founder & CEOsecondary-verified
- Kartik Tiwati Co-foundersecondary-verified
Safety record
No incidents on record for Starsky 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
Starsky Robotics in third-party press
Peer companies
- Tesla4 models
- Aurora Innovation3 models
- Waymo3 models
- BelAZ2 models
- Caterpillar2 models
- Caterpillar Mining2 models
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- wound_down
- Counterparty risk class
- unknown
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 (1)
- Starsky Robotics x Loadsmart with Loadsmartdeploymentconcluded
Funding rounds (2)
Starsky Robotics’s 2 disclosed rounds, $22M in total, oldest to newest.
- Series A2018-03-08
$17M(reported)
Investors: Shasta Ventures (lead)
- Seed2017-01-01
$5M(reported)
Investors: Y Combinator (lead)
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdAug 8, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment recordedJun 1, 2018
Starsky Autonomous Truck System at Florida Turnpike, Florida, USA
Sources (3)
Common questions
What is Starsky Robotics?
What does Starsky Robotics make?
Who competes with Starsky Robotics?
Who is the CEO of Starsky Robotics?
Where is Starsky Robotics headquartered?
Where does Starsky Robotics operate robots?
Is Starsky Robotics a top robotics company?
Is Starsky Robotics safe?
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-09
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-09
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 1
- knowledge-base
- Knowledge base
- 1
- secondary-trade-publication
- Trade publication
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Starsky Robotics.Peer companies
- Tesla4 models
- Aurora Innovation3 models
- Waymo3 models
- BelAZ2 models
- Caterpillar2 models
- Caterpillar Mining2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Starsky Robotics from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Self-Driving Truck Startup Starsky Robotics Shuts Down After Series B Falls Through
Crunchbase News coverage of Starsky Robotics shutting down after a 0M Series B round fell through, having raised about 0M total since 2015.
Starsky Robotics - Wikipedia
Wikipedia article on Starsky Robotics, an autonomous trucking company that conducted the first driverless freight run on a public highway before shutting down in March 2020.
The End of Starsky Robotics
Co-founder and CEO Stefan Seltz-Axmacher's candid postmortem on Starsky Robotics' shutdown, attributing its fate to timing, declining investor interest in AV tech, and the…
Loadsmart completes first-ever automated dispatch and delivery with Starsky Robotics autonomous truck
PR Newswire announcement of Loadsmart and Starsky Robotics completing the first-ever automated dispatch and delivery using an autonomous truck.
Starsky Robotics Unleashes Its Truly Driverless Truck in Florida
WIRED coverage of Starsky Robotics completing the first unmanned freight run on the Florida Turnpike, a 9.4-mile driverless trip with no safety driver.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/starsky-robotics.md
- RSS feed: /companies/starsky-robotics/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/99e092dd-79e4-430d-b418-a36bd80a8b12
- Revision history: /companies/starsky-robotics/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Tesla4 models
- Aurora Innovation3 models
- Waymo3 models
- BelAZ2 models
- Caterpillar2 models
- Caterpillar Mining2 models
Reality vs attention
Starsky Robotics draws attention at the 8th percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among truck robots.
Analysis
Limited public visibility and press coverage relative to peers.
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: Aug 9, 2026