Gatik Raises $200 Million After PepsiCo Deal to Expand Driverless Freight

Autonomous-trucking startup Gatik announced a $200 million Series D on August 25, 2026, as it seeks to expand from established commercial routes into a larger driverless freight operation.

The round was led by Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies, with participation from Millennium Management, ARK Invest and Intact Private Capital, among others. Gatik did not disclose a valuation.

The financing came two months after PepsiCo announced a multiyear agreement with Gatik. PepsiCo said June 8 that Gatik was already operating for the company in Texas, Arizona and Arkansas, moving products through regional supply-chain networks.

Capital aimed at more trucks and operations

Gatik said the new capital will support commercial operations, fleet expansion, technology, infrastructure and workforce growth. Reuters reported that the company is targeting more than 100 driverless trucks by the end of 2026. That is a forward-looking target, not a completed fleet count.

TechCrunch reported that Gatik had 41 driverless box trucks moving Frito-Lay products between distribution centers and stores in Dallas, Phoenix and Northwest Arkansas. The company has not publicly provided a complete fleet count.

Gatik’s business is focused on “middle-mile” freight: repeated regional trips between distribution centers and stores. The trucks are used by commercial customers on defined routes; this is not a consumer-car launch or a product that ordinary buyers can purchase.

Reported demand comes with differing order totals

Gatik says it has more than $600 million in contracted revenue and has completed 85,000 fully driverless orders. Reuters reported those figures from the company. The Qatar Investment Authority’s financing announcement instead cited more than 100,000 completed fully driverless orders.

The two figures have not been publicly reconciled. They should therefore be treated as separately attributed company- or investor-reported figures, not as one settled total or an independently audited measure.

Even with that limitation, the financing gives Gatik more capital to test whether recurring regional freight routes can support a durable business. Expansion will require the company to add vehicles, maintain supporting infrastructure, staff operations and win or retain commercial customers.

Possible effects on freight work and supply chains

For retailers and food companies, autonomous regional hauling could change how delivery schedules, warehouse networks and freight capacity are planned. Gatik and PepsiCo say the deployments are intended to improve consistency and add capacity in high-frequency networks.

The technology could also shift some work toward fleet operations, maintenance, remote assistance, dispatching and logistics coordination. But the current record does not establish how many driving jobs could be displaced, when that might happen or whether automated trucks will lower freight prices.

Those outcomes will depend on actual fleet growth, customer adoption, operating costs, safety performance and regulatory decisions. PepsiCo’s statements about service and capacity are descriptions of the companies’ objectives and claims, not independent findings about the broader freight market.

Federal guidance still limits the meaning of “self-driving”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says fully automated vehicles are not available for consumer purchase. NHTSA describes current higher-automation activity as involving testing, research, pilot programs and other limited public-road deployments in restricted or designated conditions.

That guidance matters as Gatik expands. The $200 million round shows investor backing for a commercial freight strategy, but it does not mean fully autonomous vehicles are broadly available to the public or that NHTSA has issued a blanket approval for Gatik’s operations.

The next indicators will be whether Gatik reaches its planned fleet size, adds customers and operating markets, reports safety performance and expands beyond its current routes. Federal and state oversight will help determine how quickly autonomous freight can grow in the United States.

Sources

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