Goodyear invests in autonomous trucking company Gatik

Goodyear and Gatik have announced a multi-year collaboration to advance the development of vehicles for the autonomous B2B short-distance logistics industry.

Under the collaboration, Goodyear’s venture capital fund, Goodyear Ventures, participated in Gatik’s recently announced Series B funding and the companies will work on multiple innovative projects. Gatik’s medium-duty fleet will use tyres equipped with tyre intelligence technology powered by Goodyear SightLine, a suite of tyre intelligence solutions, building upon Goodyear’s existing connected tyre management products in an effort to improve stopping distances in autonomous commercial vehicles and monitor tyre pressure in real-time for enhanced safety and reduced wear. As Gatik commercialises its operations at scale, the use of tyre intelligence solutions is expected to help reduce fuel and maintenance costs while increasing operational efficiencies for retailers, e-commerce companies and distributors employing Gatik’s autonomous solution.

“By leveraging our advanced tyre intelligence solutions, Goodyear can help improve vehicle performance and safety in autonomous transportation,” commented Chris Helsel, Goodyear’s Senior Vice President, Global Operations and CTO. “Together, Goodyear and Gatik will combine our innovative technologies to help bring more efficiency in the increasingly important middle-mile segment.”

“The benefits of Goodyear’s tyre intelligence technology are grounded in enhancing safety, increasing efficiency and reducing costs – principles which are absolutely fundamental to Gatik’s mission and success,” added Arjun Narang, CTO and Co-founder, Gatik. “This collaboration will enable us to further increase the value we offer our customers across the continent and help define new standards in safety and sustainability for the B2B short-haul sector.”

“Gatik’s mission to deliver goods safely and efficiently using autonomous vehicles aligns with our investment strategy, making them a great addition to our portfolio, which already includes key autonomous delivery players in the long-haul and last-mile delivery markets,” said Abhijit Ganguly, Managing Director, Goodyear Ventures. “We believe this investment is a strong strategic fit for Goodyear as we seek to learn more about the implications of autonomous technologies in middle mile delivery and logistics.”