MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kodiak AI, Inc. (“Kodiak”) (Nasdaq: KDK), a leading provider of Physical AI-powered autonomous driving technology, today reaffirmed that it remains firmly on track to launch unsupervised driverless long-haul commercial service by the end of 2026. The company's Autonomy Readiness Measure ("ARM") for long-haul driverless operations reached 96% at the end of September 2026, up from 93% at the end of August.
Kodiak has added five percentage points to its ARM in just two months, more than doubling its monthly rate of progress from earlier in the year.
Kodiak is now in the final stretch of completing its highway launch safety case in preparation of planned long-haul driverless launch in late 2026. Kodiak’s safety case is a structured argument, supported by evidence, that the Kodiak Driver, the company's autonomous driving system, can operate safely in a defined operating environment.
Kodiak’s ARM measures the percentage of claims and evidence in Kodiak’s safety case for driverless operations that are materially complete. The increase to 96% reflects accelerated progress in the testing and validation activities required to launch the Kodiak Driver into long-haul driverless service, and operate that service safely and consistently with its commercial partners.
"We are on track to launch driverless long-haul service by the end of 2026, and our momentum is building," said Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak. "September was our best month yet for closing safety case claims. We know exactly what we need to accomplish in the coming weeks to achieve driver-out long-haul operations, and have identified and scheduled the remaining engineering verification and validation activities. We expect to complete our long-haul safety case and launch long-haul driverless before year’s end. This launch will not be a one-time milestone. Our safety case is built to support ongoing driverless service our customers can rely on."
Kodiak’s long-haul safety case builds on the safety case the company completed for its industrial deployment in the Permian Basin, where, as of the end of the second quarter of 2026, the company had deployed its technology in 35 unsupervised driverless trucks with no humans in the cab that are owned and operated by our customer, Atlas Energy Solutions. This deployment demonstrates the company’s unmatched operational expertise in commercial driverless trucking.
Kodiak’s progress toward closing its long-haul safety case has accelerated throughout 2026. The company reported an ARM of 84% as of February, 86% as of April, 91% as of July, and 93% as of August.
"This month's progress came from finishing the hazard analyses for the systems that take over if something goes wrong, and from strengthening the evidence based on an adversarial review of our safety argument," said Frank Fratrik, Director of Safety, Kodiak. "We continue to examine risks critically, even those that are highly unlikely to occur. The work still in front of us is well defined: completing the long-haul risk assessment with our Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) methodology and Breakpoint simulation tool, verifying our launch vehicle configuration, and demonstrating how the truck can ensure safety at highway speeds."
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements including regarding Kodiak's or its management teams' expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "forecast," "intend," "expect," "may," "plan," "potential," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: Kodiak’s expectations regarding the timing of launching driverless trucks for long-haul highways operations; Kodiak’s expectations regarding the timing of completion of work on its highway launch safety case; and Kodiak's expectations with respect to its future performance and success. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Kodiak's management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied upon by any investors as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Kodiak. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes in business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; the rapid evolution of autonomous vehicle technology and flaws or errors in Kodiak’s solutions or flaws in or misuse of autonomous vehicle technology in general; risks related to the rollout of Kodiak’s business and the timing of expected business milestones; the effects of competition on Kodiak’s business; supply shortages in the materials necessary for the production of the Kodiak Driver; risks related to working with third-party manufacturers for key components of the Kodiak Driver; risks related to the retrofitting of Kodiak’s vehicles by third parties; the termination or suspension of any of Kodiak’s contracts or the reduction in counterparty spending; delays in Kodiak’s operational roadmap with key partners and customers; and Kodiak’s ability to raise capital in the near term and long term. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact such forward-looking statements can be found in filings and potential filings by Kodiak with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the heading "Risk Factors." If any of these risks materialize or any assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Kodiak does not presently know, or that Kodiak currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Kodiak's expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date they are made. Kodiak anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Kodiak's assessments to change. However, while Kodiak may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Kodiak specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Kodiak's assessments as of any date subsequent to the date they are made.
About Kodiak AI
Kodiak AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: KDK) is a leader in Physical AI, developing driverless technology that powers machines that move. The core of the company’s solution is the Kodiak Driver, a vehicle-agnostic autonomous driving system that combines advanced AI-powered software with modular hardware. Today, the Kodiak Driver operates in the long-haul trucking, industrial trucking, and defense sectors, and is already deployed in commercial operation with no one in the cab. Kodiak AI commercializes its technology through both a Driver-as-a-Service business model and strategic partnerships. In 2024, Kodiak achieved a historic milestone, becoming the first company to deploy driverless technology in customer-owned driverless semi-trucks. Commercial partners and customers include Atlas Energy Solutions, IKEA, Bridgestone, Werner Enterprises, C.R. England, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Roehl Transport.
For more information, visit kodiak.ai/investors. The Kodiak press kit, including videos and images, is available here.
Contacts
Kodiak Media Relations
Pete Bigelow
Public Relations Manager
[email protected]
Kodiak Investor Relations
Steve Philistin
Senior Investor Relations Manager
[email protected]
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b5c353b6-99dd-4cf9-8a54-7bcb8da935aa.