Kodiak signs DTL deal for 75 driverless trucks, deliveries start in 2028

Kodiak AI said on Oct. 28 that DTL Transport will deploy the Kodiak Driver, its autonomous driving system, in 75 driverless trucks.

DTL will own and run the trucks and pay Kodiak a per-mile fee under a deal TechCrunch describes as Kodiak's first binding contract for driverless trucks on public highways. TechCrunch reported that deliveries start in 2028, and that Kodiak has yet to start its own driverless highway service.

Kodiak, based in Mountain View, California, called it the first publicly announced definitive agreement by an interstate trucking company to operate driverless trucks in its own fleet under Driver-as-a-Service (DaaS). DTL, based in Fresno and led by President and CEO Lucky Dosanjh, has more than 100 trucks. It has spent more than 36 years in dry and refrigerated full truckload, serving grocery chains, meat processors and fresh produce customers, according to the release.

DTL will start on two routes Kodiak has tested

DTL will begin on Interstate 10 between Dallas and El Paso and Interstate 20 between Dallas and Atlanta, routes Kodiak says it has already tested. Kodiak says the routes let DTL operate beyond current service hour limits, and more lanes will be added over time. In September, the Kodiak Driver hauled perishable goods for DTL 225 miles on I-5 and CA-99 between Fresno and Los Angeles under Kodiak's heavy-duty Autonomous Vehicle Testing permit from the California DMV; TechCrunch reported a human safety operator was behind the wheel. Kodiak calls the runs the first commercial goods autonomously hauled by a Class 8 truck in California.

Atlas has run the same model off-road since 2024

As of June 30, 2026, Atlas Energy Solutions, a DaaS customer since 2024, had the Kodiak Driver integrated on 35 driverless trucks it owns and operates in the Permian Basin of West Texas. Kodiak has committed to growing that fleet to 100 trucks by mid-2027, and DTL's trucks are slated for public interstate highways.

Kodiak did not disclose the deal's value. According to TechCrunch, Kodiak's 2025 investor presentation forecast annual recurring revenue of $150,000 to $190,000 per truck, assuming about $0.97 per mile and about 225,000 miles a year. On those assumptions, TechCrunch estimates the DTL deal could bring at least about $11.2 million a year once all 75 trucks are delivered.

"The Driver-As-A-Service business model is tailor-made for commercial trucking," Kodiak founder and CEO Don Burnette said in the release. He told TechCrunch: "We don't want to be in the business of running a trucking company." Under its trucking-as-a-service model, Kodiak also owns and operates trucks as a carrier for customers including Charger USA, Roehl Transport and Werner Enterprises on three active routes in Texas, a model Burnette described to TechCrunch as still in pilot stage.

Kodiak's own first driverless highway run, for IKEA on I-45 between Dallas and Houston, is targeted for December. DTL's 75 trucks do not arrive until 2028.