TORONTO, March 02, 2021, Gatik, an autonomous technology company that deploys autonomous vehicles for B2B middle mile logistics, received $997,706 in funding from Ontario’s Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network’s (AVIN) R&D Partnership Fund, as well as an $8,000,000 industry contribution, to winterize its autonomous driving technology. Gatik has also used AVIN’s regional facilities around the province to access R&D resources, tools, and equipment, as well as using AVIN to bring on-board highly qualified Ontario people to assist the project’s work.
Gatik, a California-based autonomous delivery business, is extending its presence in North Texas with the development of a self-driving trucking facility in Fort Worth that will create 500 new employment by 2025.
The facility will be Gatik’s operations headquarters for Texas, where the company’s medium-duty autonomous trucks are on the road for more than 20 hours a day, every day. In addition, the firm said on Tuesday that it had secured $85 million in its most recent fundraising round to expand its fleet of autonomous box trucks into additional North American markets.
One of the lesser-known firms in the autonomous driving industry is currently collecting income from some of North America’s top merchants, but you’ll almost certainly never get to ride in one of its cars. Based in Silicon Valley Gatik is a tiny firm that transports groceries for Walmart WMT +0.5 percent in Arkansas and Loblaws in Toronto, Canada, utilizing automated box trucks. Gatik announced a third facility in Louisiana this week, as well as a partnership with Via Motors for its first battery-electric trucks.
Gatik isn’t doing anything particularly unique in terms of technology compared to any number of other AV businesses.
They sense the world surrounding the car with lidar, radar, and cameras, and employ a lot of software to figure out a safe way through it.
Vic Fedeli, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade, stated, “Gatik’s pioneering technology highlights the immense potential of next-generation vehicle technology in enabling businesses to manage their supply chains effectively and safely in all weather situations.” “We’re thrilled that our Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN) is helping Ontario’s economy recover from the COVID-19 epidemic by fostering the creation of cutting-edge auto-tech firms while also improving our innovation ecosystem and boosting our innovation ecosystem.”
Gatik’s business approach is what sets it apart. It will take time for generalized autonomous driving to mature. As a result, firms like Voyage and Gatik are limiting their operational domains to make the problem easier to solve. Voyage focuses on providing robotaxi services to retirees in retirement communities. Gatik focuses on what is known as “middle mile” delivery.
Companies like Walmart are rapidly transitioning to a regional hub-and-spoke model to make this process more efficient, especially with the rise in demand for services like curbside pickup, especially during the epidemic.
If you’ve been to the supermarket in the last year, you’ve probably seen “shoppers” walking up and down the aisles, choosing products from lists supplied through online ordering. This isn’t a particularly efficient procedure, and it also causes the aisles to get more crowded.
Walmart and others are putting in place new micro-distribution facilities, which are smaller than typical warehouses but are designed to automate the pick-and-pack operation. Customers place orders for pickup online, which are then packed at one of these local distribution centers before being delivered to the neighborhood shop for curbside collection.
With the new facility, Gatik hopes to capitalize on the growing need for artificial intelligence technologies in the logistics business, according to co-founder and CEO Gautam Narang.
Gatik, based in Palo Alto and founded in 2017, specializes in short-haul, business-to-business logistics for firms such as Walmart and Loblaw, a Canadian grocery giant. Gatik and Isuzu North America Corp. established cooperation in April to create fully autonomous vehicles.
“Gatik’s entry into Texas comes at a time when demand for autonomous middleman delivery has outstripped even the most optimistic forecasts,” he added. “In traditional logistics networks, rising prices, inconsistent service levels, and an increasingly evident driver scarcity have fueled overwhelming demand for Gatik’s autonomous technology.”
Self-driving box trucks from the firm are currently available in Texas, Arkansas, and Ontario, Canada.
According to TechCrunch, Gatik has raised $114.5 million to date. Koch Disruptive Technologies, Koch Industries’ venture arm, led the company’s most recent investment round.
Gatik is launching its first electric vehicles in Louisiana this week. The three new trucks, which are still based on the Transit 350, are now outfitted with a Via Motors battery electric motor. Via originated as Raser Technologies, a Utah-based company that developed a plug-in hybrid conversion for GM vehicles, notably the Hummer H3. In 2011, the business was renamed Via, and it shifted its focus from PHEV conversions to complete electric a few years ago.
According to our sources, Gatik has raised $114.5 million to date. Koch Disruptive Technologies, Koch Industries’ venture arm, led the company’s most recent investment round.
Gatik is launching its first electric vehicles in Louisiana this week. The three new trucks, which are still based on the Transit 350, are now outfitted with a Via Motors battery electric motor. Via originated as Raser Technologies, a Utah-based company that developed a plug-in hybrid conversion for GM vehicles, notably the Hummer H3. In 2011, the business was renamed Via, and it shifted its focus from PHEV conversions to complete electric a few years ago.
The electric Gatik trucks have a range of around 120 miles, although, in present operations, they generally go over 300 miles each day. Many corporations, including Walmart, have declared sustainability goals, including Walmart’s goal of becoming carbon neutral in all of its activities by 2040. Getting merchants like Gatik to do the same is part of the strategy. Gatik will begin operations in Louisiana between a Walmart supercenter that simultaneously serves as an automated distribution center and a local Walmart shop. Over the next few months, more delivery locations will be introduced.
Gautam Narang, CEO of Gatik, admits that large-scale electrification in the medium-duty commercial vehicle industry is only getting started. In the next month or two, Narang plans to announce a collaboration with a prominent producer of light and medium commercial vehicles. Vehicles will be fitted with redundant actuators for braking and steering, as well as power supply, to facilitate automated driving. Even with an OEM partner, he intends to continue bridging the gap with Via for at least a few more years.
Gatik also expects to begin driving some of its trucks in Arkansas without safety drivers in the coming weeks. Gatik may not be as well-known as Waymo or some of the Chinese AV companies, such as Baidu BIDU +0.4%, but it might be on its way to carving itself a lucrative economic niche in autonomous driving.
