Outrider is a startup based in Golden, Colorado, developing self-driving electric yard trucks. It is one of the businesses that use technology in sectors like agriculture, commerce, and logistics to draw venture financing.
Business Core
The distribution yard serves as the hub of the whole supply chain. It is the point at which long-distance shipments of products are unloaded into regional distribution centers and then routed to local warehouses before reaching the customer. Just imagine how Amazon and other e-commerce companies ship your purchases.
On modern yards, workers utilize diesel-powered yard trucks to transport items in trailers from the loading docks to other areas of the yard.
According to TechCrunch, Outrider's autonomous system includes the electric yard truck, operations management software, and site infrastructure. Hitching and unhitching trailers, connecting and disconnecting trailer brake lines, and monitoring trailer positions are all tasks that the autonomous system takes care of, although people may still be required at the distribution yard.
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Funding Drive
Several investors are interested in this system because of the money it may make, considering that the US has over 400,000 distribution yards.
New investors Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and NVIDIA's NVentures joined the previous participants in Outrider's $73 million Series C round, which FM Capital headed.
Together with previous sponsors, Koch Disruptive Technologies and New Enterprise Associates welcomed new investors B37 Ventures, Lineage Ventures, Presidio Ventures, the investment arm of Sumitomo Corporation, and ROBO Global Ventures.
Since its beginnings in 2017 as Azevtec, Outrider has amassed $191 million in funding.
Since the previous funding round in the autumn of 2020, the firm has progressed significantly.
Andrew Smith, creator and CEO of Outrider, told TechCrunch that the trucks' new gear, which includes robotic arms, is built to withstand severe settings. As the business completed the system's full capabilities and patented safety features, Outrider has 20 autonomous systems in operation at client locations and its test facility, Smith said.
He also said the system's final improvements would be accomplished by 2023. At that point, the company's attention will shift to commencing commercial operations with its clients, including Georgia Pacific and other undisclosed corporations engaged in collaborative product testing and pilot operations since 2019.
According to Smith, more than 20% of all yard trucks in operation throughout North America are owned by clients of Outrider.
Future Strategies
Smith has said that the newly acquired capital would be utilized to expand the company's workforce both domestically and abroad beyond its current 175 employees. The firm plans to move swiftly from the testing and validation phase into full-scale commercial operations.
The CEO stated, "It's one thing to have a vehicle driving autonomously. It's another thing to create a truly industrial system that can operate in a harsh environment over multiple years of time, 20 to 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."
The company aims to expand to thousands of systems running its software, which will require productizing the system and integrating the remaining features.
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