Waabi, a Canadian company developing self-driving trucks, has launched a commercial pilot in Texas in partnership with Uber's online freight matching solution, Uber Freight, as part of a 10-year strategic collaboration between the two companies. This marks Waabi's first publicly announced commercial partnership.

Under the collaboration, Waabi's test fleet will begin commercial pilots with shippers on the Uber Freight network, initially hauling goods between Dallas and Houston, with plans to scale operations beyond Texas. The trucks will initially operate with a safety driver.  

The two companies plan to eventually integrate their technologies to offer a driver-as-a-service model that enables carriers to purchase trucks built with Waabi's technology and join the Uber Freight marketplace for a range of services, including transfer hubs, load matching, roadside assistance, and maintenance.

Analyst QuickTake : The new partnership adds Waabi to Uber Freight’s growing network of autonomous trucking partnerships, which includes companies such as Waymo, Aurora Innovation , and Volvo —all of which were to deploy autonomous trucks in Texas.