Kodiak Signs First Driverless Highway Deal, 75 Trucks to DTL

Kodiak AI has signed its first binding commercial contract to put driverless trucks on U.S. public highways, agreeing to deliver 75 self-driving rigs to California carrier DTL Transport starting in 2028. TechCrunch reported that the deal flips Kodiak's commercial model: instead of owning the trucks itself under its old trucking-as-a-service setup, Kodiak will license the Kodiak Driver to DTL and charge by the mile.

The arrangement is being pitched as the first publicly announced definitive agreement by an interstate trucking company to operate driverless trucks within its own fleet. DTL, a midmarket carrier that hauls fresh produce to grocery chains, plans to run the vehicles on Interstate 10 between Dallas and El Paso and Interstate 20 between Dallas and Atlanta. The two companies ran a pilot in September moving perishable goods 225 miles between Fresno and Los Angeles under California's heavy-duty autonomous vehicle testing permit.

"One of the things that we love about midmarket carriers (like DTL) is that they are able to move with fast execution speed," Kodiak founder and CEO Don Burnette told TechCrunch, calling the moment "a real turning point for the self-driving industry in general." Lucky Dosanjh, DTL's president and CEO, said in a statement that integrating the technology, "complementing our experienced, professional workforce, we can expand capacity, enhance safety and drive innovation forward."

Based on Kodiak's 2025 investor materials, which forecast $150,000 to $190,000 in annual recurring revenue per truck at roughly $0.97 per mile, the 75-truck deal would generate about $11.2 million in annual recurring revenue once fully deployed. The announcement lands ahead of Kodiak's planned December launch of driverless operations for Ikea between Dallas and Houston, and it extends a run of autonomous-vehicle developments we've been tracking this fall.