Self-driving car has been the buzz in recent years, but now a self-driving truck is in the news. Aurora Innovation is a pioneer in self-driving technology and has successfully secured $483 million. The funding has surpassed the initial goal of $420 million. The fresh capital marks as important step toward the ambitious target of the company to launch driverless commercial trucks by the end of this year.
The achievement of Aurora is impressive as the financial landscape for tech startups has been challenging lately. Its ability to exceed capital goal demonstrates strong confidence of investors in its long-term potential.
Aurora was founded in 2017 and went public in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. Its business model revolves around a driver-as-a-service approach and involves carriers purchasing trucks equipped with its self-driving technology and offering their services to shippers.
The company is also planning to enter the market as a carrier itself and deploy up to 20 autonomous Paccar and Volvo trucks to shippers by the end of the year. It is basically a dual strategy and aims to accelerate the adoption of autonomous trucking technology.
Aurora lately announced to have plans of selling $420 million worth of Class A common stock to underwriters such as Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company and Morgan Stanley.
Aurora simultaneously has plans to invest in short- and long-term investment-grade instruments. Spokesperson Rachel Chibidakis said the funds will provide a good runway into 2026. It will support the deployment of driverless trucks at scale and the goal of becoming cash flow positive by 2028.
