Kodiak Robotics in Talks for SPAC Deal at $2 Billion Valuation
**Kodiak Robotics in Talks for SPAC Deal at $2 Billion Valuation**
By Alex Perry
7 hours ago
Source: The Information
Autonomous trucking startup Kodiak Robotics is in talks to merge with Ares Acquisition Corp. II in a SPAC deal that would result in a post-merger valuation of $2 billion, according to Bloomberg. The SPAC is currently asking shareholders to vote to extend the merger period, which is set to expire April 25, according to securities filings.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based Kodiak sells self-driving software that can be outfitted onto different modes of transportation, from semi trucks to military ground vehicles. Originally focused on trucking, the company has expanded to the defense and industrial industries and charges customers using its software on a per-mile basis. In January, the seven-year-old startup said customer-owned vehicles outfitted with its technology completed driverless commercial semi-trucking operations for the first time.
Kodiak Robotics was founded in 2018 by Don Burnette, an alumnus of Google's self-driving car project and co-founder of Otto, a self-driving truck start-up Uber bought in 2016 for $680 million. Aurora Innovation, a competitor founded in 2017, went public through a SPAC deal in 2021 backed by Reid Hoffman, Mark Pincus, and Michael Thompson.
Both Ares Acquisition Corp. II and Kodiak Robotics declined to comment on the potential deal.