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Dive Summary:
- Pittsburgh-based startup Stack AV started a stand-alone trucking business last week, according to a press release.
- SoftBank Group is backing the company with capital, resources and AI expertise, according to the announcement. A representative did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the level of funding.
- “We are designing AI-powered solutions to alleviate long-standing problems in the trucking industry, such as driver shortages, lagging performance in operating time per vehicle, general safety concerns, high operating costs and high emissions,” the company he said on LinkedIn.
Dive Insight:
Stack AV’s founders have ties to self-driving car startup Argo AI, which launched in 2016 and received billions in funding from Ford and Volkswagen before closing in 2022.
Stack AV launched under another name, Eva AV, in November 2022, before a name change in July 2023, according to Pennsylvania business registration records.
The company is headquartered in Pittsburgh and has 150 employees there and in 15 states in a remote/co-working model, according to the news release.
The company’s leadership previously ran Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based startup that tested self-driving cars on roads and had locations across the US, including California and Germany.
At the end of 2022, Ford and Volkswagen deleted funding from Argo AI. Ford previously said the launch failed to attract new investors. The automaker also said fully autonomous vehicles at scale are “a long way off” and “we won’t necessarily have to create the technology ourselves.”
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume noted last year in a Third quarter earnings call the company was moving away from Argo and pursuing other AV partnerships, including an ongoing partnership with Germany-based engineering and technology giant Bosch as well as a new investment with Horizon Robotics in China.
Stack AV executives include Bryan Salesky, founder and CEO; Peter Rander, president; and Brett Browning, chief technology officer.