Volvo, Waabi Partner to Produce Autonomous Trucks

Self-driving truck startup Waabi will integrate its virtual driver technology with Volvo’s purpose-designed VNL Autonomous model. (Waabi)

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Autonomous trucking startup Waabi and truck maker Volvo Group announced they are working together to jointly develop and commercialize driverless heavy-duty tractors.

Through this partnership, Waabi will integrate its autonomous driving system, the Waabi Driver, with Volvo’s production-ready VNL Autonomous model, which features redundant braking, steering and other safety systems to enable unmanned operation.

The companies plan to begin commercial pilots in Texas in the coming months to pave the way for series production of autonomous trucks in the next few years.

Raquel Urtasun, Waabi’s founder and CEO, said the agreement with Volvo’s Autonomous Solutions business unit combines the two main elements needed to enable autonomous trucking at scale — a virtual driver that can expand quickly to new geographies and a truck platform designed purposely for driverless trucking.

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Urtasun 

“Those are the two key pieces,” she said. “It’s very exciting for us because now we have both sides.”

Volvo plans to produce the Waabi Driver-equipped autonomous trucks at its New River Valley assembly plant in Dublin, Va.

Although the companies announced the collaboration on Feb. 4, engineering teams at Waabi and Volvo already have been working together for two years to lay the foundation for this partnership, Urtasun said.

As part of its journey toward commercialization, Waabi intends to launch its first fully driverless operations with no safety driver onboard by the end of this year, she added.

Volvo Group, which builds and sells Volvo and Mack commercial trucks in North America, now has two autonomous driving technology partners.

In addition to its collaboration with Waabi, the truck maker also has showcased its VNL Autonomous model outfitted with Aurora Innovation’s automated driving system, the Aurora Driver.

“We aim to create a safe and efficient autonomous transport ecosystem by collaborating with different tech players like Waabi and Aurora Innovation,” said Sasko Cuklev, head of on-road solutions at Volvo Autonomous Solutions.

Volvo’s autonomous technology platform is designed to accommodate different virtual drivers, use cases and Volvo truck brands, Cuklev said.

Technology developers are designing fully autonomous trucks to operate on specific freight lanes that are best suited to automated driving. The trucking industry will continue to depend on professional drivers for the foreseeable future, but the deployment of driverless trucks on certain routes could enable shippers, logistics companies and fleet operators to build more efficient supply chains.

Urtasun said fully autonomous trucks that are not beholden to driver hours-of-service limitations can unlock huge gains in asset utilization and enable enhanced trucking services, such as expedited shipments without team drivers.

“Suddenly it’s a different ballgame,” she said. “You can optimize your entire network much better. There are massive efficiency gains.”

(Waabi AI via YouTube)

Urtasun describes Waabi as part of “AV 2.0,” a new wave of autonomous vehicle technology built on recent advances in artificial intelligence.

Waabi utilizes an end-to-end AI model that learns directly from input data to manage the various aspects of the driving task. Urtasun said this AI-centric development approach is a more efficient way to train the virtual driver to respond appropriately to all the rare or unexpected scenarios the vehicle might encounter on the road.

“This has enabled us to go much faster and be more capital efficient,” she said.

Toronto-based Waabi, founded in 2021, raised $200 million through its Series B funding round last year, increasing the total investment in the company to $280 million.

Volvo Group Venture Capital first invested in Waabi in January 2023 and later participated in its Series B round.

“Waabi is at the forefront of developing self-driving technologies leveraging the full power of AI,” said Shahrukh Kazmi, chief product officer at Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “We are excited to integrate Waabi’s cutting-edge technology into our autonomous truck platform and work together to jointly develop a safe, efficient and scalable autonomous transport solution.”

The Volvo-Waabi agreement is the latest example of autonomous driving technology developers partnering with major truck manufacturers to integrate and ultimately mass produce self-driving trucks.

Daimler Truck, parent of the Freightliner and Western Star truck brands, is collaborating with its independent subsidiary, Torc Robotics, on autonomous truck development.

International Motors, meanwhile, announced a development partnership last year with autonomous driving technology company Plus.

Aurora, in addition to its work with Volvo, also is partnering with truck maker Paccar Inc. to deploy its virtual driver on Kenworth and Peterbilt brand trucks.

Despite some recent setbacks in the wider field of autonomous vehicle development, including General Motors’ decision late last year to wind down its Cruise robotaxi business, Urtasun pointed to success stories such as the expansion of Waymo’s driverless passenger car service in multiple U.S. cities.

In the year ahead, however, she envisions the next major advances in autonomy taking hold in the commercial vehicle space.

“I call 2025 the year of AV trucking,” Urtasun said.