Kodiak AI On Track For Year-End Driverless Long-Haul Launch as Safety Case Readiness Reaches 93%

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kodiak AI, Inc. (“Kodiak”) (Nasdaq: KDK), a leading provider of Physical AI-powered autonomous driving technology, today reaffirmed that it remains on track to launch driverless long-haul commercial service by the end of 2026. The company's Autonomy Readiness Measure ("ARM") for long-haul driverless operations reached 93% at the end of August 2026, up from 91% at the end of July.

In preparation for driverless long-haul operations, Kodiak is completing work on its highway launch safety case. Kodiak’s safety case is a structured argument, supported by evidence, that the Kodiak Driver, the company's autonomous driving system, can operate safely in a defined operating environment.

Kodiak’s ARM measures the percentage of claims and evidence in Kodiak’s safety case for driverless operations that are materially complete. The increase to 93% reflects consistent progress in the remaining development, testing and validation activities required to safely launch the Kodiak Driver into long-haul driverless service.

"What makes this measure powerful is that we know exactly what stands between us and driver-out long-haul operations, and that list continues to get shorter month after month," said Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak. "We have identified and scheduled the remaining work, which is concentrated on final engineering verification and validation activities. We expect to complete the safety case before year’s end and launch driverless long-haul service."

The Kodiak Driver uses a single AI architecture across use cases, with a distinct safety case for each operating environment. Kodiak’s long-haul safety case builds on the safety case the company completed for its industrial deployment in the Permian Basin, where 35 driverless trucks were operating commercially with no humans in the cab as of the end of the second quarter.

Kodiak has made steady progress toward closing its long-haul safety case throughout 2026. The company reported an ARM of 84% as of February, 86% through April and 91% as of July.

"The confidence to remove the driver is something a program builds, and we have built ours deliberately," said Frank Fratrik, Director of Safety, Kodiak. "Rigorous hazard analysis, mitigations designed into the system and its operation, safety engineering rigor on the parts that matter most, and continual validation that the assumptions behind our safety argument continue to hold. That discipline is what makes us confident in the path ahead."

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements including regarding Kodiak's or its management teams' expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "forecast," "intend," "expect," "may," "plan," "potential," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: Kodiak’s expectations regarding the timing of launching driverless trucks for long-haul highways operations; Kodiak’s expectations regarding the timing of completion of work on its highway launch safety case; and Kodiak's expectations with respect to its future performance and success. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Kodiak's management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied upon by any investors as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Kodiak. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes in business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; the rapid evolution of autonomous vehicle technology and flaws or errors in Kodiak’s solutions or flaws in or misuse of autonomous vehicle technology in general; risks related to the rollout of Kodiak’s business and the timing of expected business milestones; the effects of competition on Kodiak’s business; supply shortages in the materials necessary for the production of the Kodiak Driver; risks related to working with third-party manufacturers for key components of the Kodiak Driver; risks related to the retrofitting of Kodiak’s vehicles by third parties; the termination or suspension of any of Kodiak’s contracts or the reduction in counterparty spending; delays in Kodiak’s operational roadmap with key partners and customers; and Kodiak’s ability to raise capital in the near term and long term. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact such forward-looking statements can be found in filings and potential filings by Kodiak with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the heading "Risk Factors." If any of these risks materialize or any assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Kodiak does not presently know, or that Kodiak currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Kodiak's expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date they are made. Kodiak anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Kodiak's assessments to change. However, while Kodiak may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Kodiak specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Kodiak's assessments as of any date subsequent to the date they are made.

About Kodiak AI

Kodiak AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: KDK) is a leader in Physical AI, developing driverless technology that powers machines that move. The core of the company’s solution is the Kodiak Driver, a vehicle-agnostic autonomous driving system that combines advanced AI-powered software with modular hardware. Today, the Kodiak Driver operates in the long-haul trucking, industrial trucking, and defense sectors, and is already deployed in commercial operation with no one in the cab. Kodiak AI commercializes its technology through both a Driver-as-a-Service business model and strategic partnerships. In 2024, Kodiak achieved a historic milestone, becoming the first company to deploy driverless technology in customer-owned driverless semi-trucks. Commercial partners and customers include Atlas Energy Solutions, IKEA, J.B. Hunt, Bridgestone, Werner Enterprises, C.R. England, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Roehl Transport.

For more information, visit kodiak.ai/investors. The Kodiak press kit, including videos and images, is available here.

Contacts

Kodiak Media Relations
Pete Bigelow
Public Relations Manager
pete.bigelow@kodiak.ai

Kodiak Investor Relations
Steve Philistin
Senior Investor Relations Manager
investors@kodiak.ai

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9000b63c-52fc-423c-b14f-a0ab401422a9

Kodiak AI

Kodiak reaffirmed that it remains on track to launch driverless long-haul commercial service by the end of 2026.