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Outrider’s system for moving trailers autonomously includes navigating obstacles, hitching and unhitching from trailers, and connecting and disconnecting brake lines. | Source: Outrider
Outrider today announced that it has raised $62 million in an oversubscribed Series D financing round. The provider of autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs said the funding will drive its operations as a service with Fortune 500 customers in 2025 and solidify its position as a leader in logistics automation.
“By automating yard operations, Outrider is empowering supply chain workers to maximize facility throughput and safety while minimizing their exposure to repetitive, manual tasks performed in dangerous environments,” stated Andrew Smith, founder and CEO of Outrider.
“This latest funding strengthens our ability to set the highest operational standards in logistics and deliver unmatched value to our customers and their employees,” he continued. “Our global team of top talent is proud to have created this industry and will continue to lead the way for years to come.”
Customers continue validating autonomous yard trucks
With more than $250 million in equity capital raised to date, Outrider said it is working closely with customers to grow its service across industries such as package shipping, retail and e-commerce, consumer packaged goods, and automotive. Since 2019, company‘s customers, which it said represent over 20% of all yard trucks in operation in North America, have been actively involved in product testing and pilot deployments.
Outrider claimed that it has made strides including new and expanded deployments, global expansion of its technical team, and the release of new AI and deep-learning capabilities for system safety and performance.
In January 2023, Outrider raised $73 million in Series C financing. It has employees in 10 countries developing and supporting its industrial-grade technology.
The company said its innovations have been validated by more 100,000 autonomous trailer moves across its customer deployments and test site. Outrider added that multiple issued patents further demonstrate its commitment to transforming yard operations.
For example, the company obtained its 11th U.S. patent in August. This latest patent covers the task of determining where a trailer is in relation to a self-driving tractor.
While 2025 product scaling is currently focused on distribution center applications, Outrider said its technology is also suitable for use in intermodal rail and port terminals, paving the way for future applications across freight transportation.
Outrider plans to scale to hundreds of systems
With its new capital, Outrider plans to scale to hundreds of systems with key customers and address additional use cases. It said this investment will further extend Outrider’s market lead and increase its patent protections.
Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) and New Enterprise Associates (NEA) led the Series D round. Additional investments came from 8VC, ARK Invest, B37 Ventures, FM Capital, Interwoven Ventures, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), and Prologis Ventures.
Other investors joining the Series D financing included Goose Capital; Lineage Ventures, the investment strategy of Lineage Inc.; Presidio Ventures, the venture capital arm of Sumitomo Corp.; and Service Provider Capital.
“Outrider’s industry-leading technology approach, commitment to safety, and robust IP portfolio make them a standout in autonomous yard operations,” said Byron Knight, president of Koch Disruptive Technologies. “We’re thrilled to support their continued growth as they revolutionize supply chain efficiency on a global scale.”