An autonomous trucking company just went public.
Kodiak kicked off trading on the Nasdaq Thursday morning following a successful merger between autonomous trucking company, Kodiak Robotics, and special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Ares Acquisition Corporation II. The new combined company, called Kodiak AI, started trading at $8.75 per share under the ticker symbol “KDK.” The stock quickly shot up to $10.47 per share before paring some of those gains.
Kodiak AI CEO and founder Don Burnette rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq Thursday morning in celebration. The company also said it was planning to exhibit one of its autonomous trucks in Times Square.
“What a moment this is for Kodiak, for our customers and for the future of transportation. As we ring this bell, our customer-owned driverless trucks are delivering freight with nobody in the vehicle,” he said. “Autonomy isn’t a distant promise. It’s here now, operating safely on roads today.”
Featured Video
An Inc.com Featured Presentation
Burnette said Thursday that he was inspired to tackle autonomous technology and improve road safety after losing a friend in a tragic car accident. An Uber expat, he left the ride-hailing company to found Kodiak Robotics in 2018 and develop software to power autonomous trucks. Kodiak Robotics ranked 20th on the 2024 Inc. 5000.
“The transportation industry faces growing challenges, including safety risks, rising costs, and driver shortages,” Burnette said in a statement. “Going public with the support of our partners at AACT marks an important step in Kodiak’s journey to help transform how freight moves by providing our driverless solution to customers.”
Although Burnette previously told Inc. that Mountain View, California-based Kodiak didn’t start as an AI company, the technology has become core to its operations. Burnette said Thursday the company has logged over 3 million autonomous miles, and its trucks have exceeded 3,000 hours of commercial operation.
“The Kodiak Driver is already on the road, safely and reliably delivering freight every day for paying customers without a human in the cab. Our driverless operations show that autonomy is no longer a future promise but a reality today,” Burnette said in a statement.
The company also noted that its customer Atlas Energy Solutions, which currently owns and operates a fleet of eight Kodiak Driver-powered autonomous trucks, placed an order for 100 in 2025.
Kodiak disclosed it received some $212.5 million worth of institutional investment in connection with business combination with Ares, which includes $145 million in private investment in public equity (PIPE) funding and roughly $62.9 million in trust cash. Shareholders voted to approve the transaction at a September 23 meeting.
Special purpose acquisition companies, also known as blank check companies, are formed with the sole purpose of raising funds through an IPO to take a company public, according to Investopedia. Those funds are placed in a trust after which point the SPAC has a limited amount of time to identify and merge with a company. In the event that an acquisition is not successful, investors get their money back. SPACs had made a major resurgence in past years as companies sought faster and less expensive ways to go public.
With that rise in popularity came a rise in fraud and scams, as well as increased oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission.