Kodiak AI has signed a binding commercial agreement with DTL Transport to deploy its autonomous driving system in 75 driverless trucks, marking the company's first such deal for heavy-duty rigs operating on public highways1,2. Deliveries are set to begin in 2028.
Per-mile licensing on public roads
Under Kodiak AI's Driver-as-a-Service model, DTL Transport will own and operate the trucks and pay Kodiak AI a per-mile fee to license the autonomous driving system3,4. DTL Transport, a California-based mid-market carrier that hauls fresh produce and goods for grocery chains, plans to run the trucks on multiple interstate routes, starting with Dallas to El Paso, Texas, and Interstate 20 between Dallas and Atlanta. Kodiak AI has already conducted testing and operations on both corridors.
The deal grew out of a pilot program in California last month, during which a Kodiak AI truck autonomously hauled perishable goods roughly 225 miles between Fresno and Los Angeles under a California heavy-duty testing permit, with a human safety operator behind the wheel.
Kodiak AI founder and CEO Don Burnette told TechCrunch that mid-market carriers can integrate autonomous technology faster than larger fleets: "One of the things that we love about mid-market carriers (like DTL) is that they are able to move with fast execution speed, much more at the speed of a startup or a small company or a tech company like Kodiak, and that they just want to get stuff done". He added that the deal represents "a real turning point for the self-driving industry in general".
December milestone and broader fleet
Separately, Kodiak AI plans to begin fully driverless highway freight operations in December, removing human safety operators from the cab to carry goods for IKEA on Interstate 45 between Dallas and Houston. The company, which went public in September 2025, also operates under a Trucking-as-a-Service model with customers including Charger USA, Roehl Transport, and Werner Enterprises, though Burnette has described those arrangements as pilot projects.
Kodiak AI's off-highway Driver-as-a-Service customer, Atlas Energy Solutions, has operated 35 driverless trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver in the Permian Basin since 2024. The company recently logged 64 consecutive days of uninterrupted autonomous operation on one of those trucks[1]. Kodiak AI also began autonomous freight hauling on a 435-mile Dallas-to-Laredo route with Charger USA, with the first delivery completed on September 8, 2026[2].
ANALYSIS The DTL Transport contract converts Kodiak AI's Driver-as-a-Service model from an off-road proposition into an on-highway revenue stream, with the per-mile fee structure tying Kodiak AI's income directly to fleet utilization rather than upfront hardware sales. The December removal of safety operators on the Dallas–Houston corridor for IKEA will serve as a public proof point ahead of the 2028 DTL Transport rollout.
The financial value of the DTL Transport agreement has not been disclosed.