Microsoft To Invest $10M In Self-Driving Truck Startup Gatik - Sources

Microsoft Corp is in advanced talks to invest in Gatik, a California-based autonomous driving startup, as part of its cloud partnership with the company, two people familiar with the discussions told Reuters. According to the sources, Microsoft intends to contribute more than $10 million to a financing round that values Gatik at more than $700 million. As part of the agreement, Gatik will create autonomous truck delivery technology using Azure, Microsoft's cloud and edge computing platform.

The sources, who wished to remain anonymous to discuss personal matters, added that the terms of the agreement could still change. Gatik and Microsoft declined to comment. Microsoft has recently invested money in self-driving technology, just like other major tech companies. In a deal valued at $30 billion, Microsoft invested in Cruise, a robotaxi company owned by GM, in January 2021. Cruise, which competes with Alphabet's Waymo and Amazon's Zoox, intends to use Azure to scale up its autonomous vehicle solutions for commercial applications.

Although autonomous driving technologies are thought to be revolutionary for the logistics and transportation sectors, they have encountered obstacles due to regulatory worries about safety and less readily available funding in a slowing market. Gatik, founded in 2017 by industry veterans Gautam Narang and Arjun Narang, focuses on middle-mile, business-to-business logistics for the retail industry. With Walmart Inc. and Loblaw Companies Ltd., it has been providing fully driverless commercial delivery services since 2021. Gatik now provides short-distance box truck deliveries in Arkansas and Ontario, Canada.

Investors like Koch Disruptive Technologies, Innovation Endeavors, Goodyear Ventures, and RyderVentures have contributed more than $120 million to the fund.