{"id":"99e092dd-79e4-430d-b418-a36bd80a8b12","name":"Starsky Robotics","slug":"starsky-robotics","description":"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.","status":"defunct","founded":2016,"hq":"San Francisco, California, USA","hqLat":null,"hqLng":null,"hqGeocodedAt":null,"hqAddress":null,"hqPrecision":null,"website":"https://www.starskyrobotics.com/","fundingTotal":null,"type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://medium.com/starsky-robotics-blog/the-end-of-starsky-robotics-acb8a6a8a5f5","title":"The End of Starsky Robotics","publisher":"Medium / Starsky Robotics blog"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-driving_truck","title":"Self-driving truck - Wikipedia","publisher":"Wikipedia"},{"url":"https://www.therobotreport.com/starsky-robotics-co-founder-on-self-driving-truck-shutdown/","title":"Starsky Robotics co-founder on self-driving truck shutdown","publisher":"The Robot Report"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"CEO","value":"Stefan Seltz-Axmacher (co-founder)"},{"label":"Co-founder","value":"Kartik Tiwati"},{"label":"Total funding","value":"$21.5M (Seed + Series A)"},{"label":"First driverless freight run","value":"9.4 miles on Florida Turnpike, June 2019 — first on a public highway"},{"label":"Shutdown date","value":"March 19, 2020 — Series B ($20M) fell through"},{"label":"Autonomy level","value":"85% autonomous, 15% remote teleoperation"},{"label":"Notable investor","value":"Shasta Ventures (led $16.5M Series A)"},{"label":"Partnership","value":"Loadsmart — first-ever automated dispatch and delivery with an autonomous truck"}],"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"tickerSymbol":null,"stockExchange":null,"secCik":null,"revenueUsd":null,"revenueBasis":null,"revenueAsOf":null,"employeeCount":null,"employeeCountBasis":null,"employeeCountAsOf":null,"marketCapUsd":null,"marketCapAsOf":null,"marketCapSource":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-08T23:22:27.944Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-09T03:05:02.260Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/starsky-robotics","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/starsky-robotics","name":"Starsky Robotics","description":"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.","identifier":"99e092dd-79e4-430d-b418-a36bd80a8b12","foundingDate":"2016","address":"San Francisco, California, USA","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":3,"primary_source_types":["knowledge-base","secondary-trade-publication"]}}}