Kodiak AI has expanded its long-standing partnership with ZF.

Kodiak is a developer of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology.

ZF is a global technology company supplying mobility products and systems for commercial vehicles, passenger cars, and industrial technology. \

According to Kodiak, this expanded partnership includes the purchase of 100 steering systems with redundant components.

This purchase will enable Kodiak to grow its trucking business. 

Advanced Steering Innovations

Kodiak began integrating these redundant steering components into Kodiak Driver-equipped trucks earlier in 2025.

“At ZF, our goal is to offer innovative solutions designed to enhance the autonomous vehicle industry by incorporating redundant components and moving towards fail-safe steering systems, enhancing safety, precision, and AI-driven functionality,” said Praful Bari, head of application engineering, commercial vehicle solutions, ZF. “This includes the development of cutting-edge technologies like redundant ReAX, our adaptive electronic steering assist system and our next-generation Electric Power Steering, which enables ZF and our partners to explore new possibilities in autonomous mobility."

ZF’s steering innovations are a key component of Kodiak’s autonomous platform. The company said redundancy is essential to safe driverless deployments. 

In January 2024, Kodiak unveiled its sixth-generation truck, which included ZF’s redundant steering actuators controlled by Kodiak's autonomous system.

If the primary steering actuator experiences a failure, the truck seamlessly switches to the secondary actuator, allowing Kodiak’s virtual Driver to maintain control of the vehicle and achieve a safe fallback. 

This supports the safe operation of Kodiak Driver-equipped trucks.

ZF supported Kodiak throughout the development of the steering system solutions, and ZF’s flexible manufacturing system enabled the rapid creation of dedicated production capacity specifically for Kodiak’s steering solution. 

Kodiak’s manufacturing partner, Roush, upfits the Kodiak Driver-equipped trucks with the ReAX steering solution at its factory in Livonia, Michigan.

"Praful and his team at ZF have been fantastic partners to Kodiak since day one, and they have worked tirelessly to get us exactly what we needed to meet our safety standards for a redundant autonomous system,” said Jamie Hoffacker, VP of hardware, Kodiak AI. “These innovations have been pivotal in the commercialization of driverless semi-trucks, and are contributing to advancements in safety, efficiency, and environmental responsibility in the commercial vehicle sector."