PepsiCo компанитай хамтын ажиллагааны гэрээ байгуулснаас хойш хоёр сарын дараа тус стартап өөрийн түүхэн дэх хамгийн том санхүүжилтээ амжилттай босголоо
Калифорни мужийн Санта-Клара хотод төвтэй Gatik стартап 200 сая долларын хөрөнгө оруулалт татсан нь тус компанийн хувьд шинэ шатны хөгжлийг эхлүүлж байна. Энэхүү санхүүжилтийн тойргийг Qatar Investment Authority болон Koch Disruptive Technologies тэргүүлж, Millennium Management, ARK Invest, Intact Private Capital зэрэг байгууллагууд оролцлоо. 2019 онд үйл ажиллагаагаа олон нийтэд зарласнаас хойш тус компани нийт 500 орчим сая долларын хөрөнгө оруулалт босгоод байгаа боловч зах зээлийн үнэлгээгээ зарласангүй.
Gatik нь “дунд зайн” ачаа тээврийн салбарт жолоочгүй ачааны машинаар дамжуулан үйлчилгээ үзүүлэх чиглэлээр дагнан ажилладаг. Өнгөрсөн онд тус компани ачааны машинууддаа байсан аюулгүй байдлын жолоочийг бүрмөсөн халж, бүрэн бие даасан горимоор арилжааны тээвэрлэлт хийх техникийн чухал алхмыг хийсэн юм. Одоогоор PepsiCo-той хамтран Даллас, Финикс болон Арканзас мужид 41 жолоочгүй ачааны машинаар Frito-Lay бүтээгдэхүүнийг түгээж байна.
Компанийн гүйцэтгэх захирал Гаутам Нарангийн мэдээлснээр, Gatik одоогоор 600 сая долларын гэрээт орлого олох төлөвлөгөөтэй байгаа аж. Шинээр татсан хөрөнгийг компанийн 350 хүнтэй багийг өргөжүүлэх, инженерүүд болон үйл ажиллагааны ажилтнуудыг нэмж авах, мөн зах зээлээ тэлэхэд зарцуулах юм. Тус стартап нь гурав дахь үеийн технологийн тусламжтайгаар өдөр шөнийн аль ч цагт, бага зэргийн бороо, цастай нөхцөлд ч ажиллах чадвартай болжээ.
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Gatik, the autonomous vehicle startup known for its self-driving box trucks, has raised $200 million just two months after striking a multi-year commercial agreement with PepsiCo.
The round was led by Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies, with participation from Millennium Management, ARK Invest, and Intact Private Capital. The Santa Clara, California-based company has raised about $500 million since it came out of stealth in 2019. The company didn’t disclose its valuation.
The funding, the company’s largest to date, marks a new phase for Gatik as it evolves from a startup with a few pilot programs into a company that runs commercial driverless operations with multiple commercial customers across several cities.
“These are all long-term investors,” Gatik co-founder and CEO Gautam Narang said in a recent interview. “All the scale-up plans that we have and the growth that we have in mind for the next few years — these are the kind of financial partners that can help us.”
Gatik has carved out a niche for itself in the competitive and burgeoning autonomous vehicle industry. While dozens of startups and well-funded tech companies worked on developing sidewalk delivery robots, robotaxis, self-driving big rigs for long hauls, or driverless vehicles designed for construction and mining, Gatik focused on short-haul delivery.
The startup built a fleet of driverless box trucks that could be used to deliver food and beverages for suppliers — starting with fixed-route trips that were less than 10 miles, and growing to dynamic routes with dozens of pick-up and drop-off locations that cover up to 400 miles.
Gatik largely sits alone in this slice of the market, where it has become a dominant player in so-called “middle-mile” delivery. The company has several high-profile customers, including Canada’s Loblaw, Kroger and Tyson Foods. Its first customer, which was disclosed six years ago, was Walmart.
Last year, the company reached a critical technical and operational milestone that allowed it to pull the safety driver from behind the wheel on its commercial routes. Gatik now has dozens of self-driving trucks that are fully driverless and operate commercially across several markets. Importantly, they can operate in a variety of conditions and environments.
“The technology has evolved and matured a lot over the last few years, especially with the latest generation of our tech,” Narang said, noting that the company’s third-generation self-driving trucks operate around the clock on surface streets and highways, and can handle light rain and snow.
Gatik wouldn’t share precise fleet numbers or name all of its customers. But its largest public partnership is with PepsiCo, in which 41 driverless box trucks shuttle Cheetos, Doritos, and other Frito-Lay products from distribution centers to stores in Dallas, Phoenix and Northwest Arkansas.
That middle-mile niche has paid off for the Santa Clara, California-based startup. The company has locked in commercial deals worth $600 million in contracted revenue, according to Narang.
The fresh $200 million will allow Gatik to scale even faster — a goal that will require it to expand beyond its 350-person workforce. Narang said the company plans to hire engineers and operational staff as well as expand to new markets, or within existing ones.
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