• Aurora Innovation, an autonomous vehicle technology startup, has partnered with multimodal transportation services provider Schneider National for a multiphase commercial autonomous trucking pilot between Dallas and Houston, Texas.

• Initially, trucks will be deployed with a safety driver on weekly hauls, with plans to increase the frequency in the future.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: Today’s news marks Aurora’s fourth autonomous trucking pilot in progress. The company is currently hauling goods in Texas for its customers FedEx, Uber Freight, and Werner Enterprises and also has partnerships with U.S. Xpress and Covenant Logistics to design deployment strategies and refine its autonomous technology. Texas has always been a popular destination for autonomous trucking companies given its geographical location, availability of academic and research institutions, and the Texan government’s encouragement. Other autonomous trucking companies with operations in Texas include Waymo, Daimler, Gatik, TuSimple, Embark Trucks, and Kodiak Robotics. </ul>