Kodiak Robotics a provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology, and Roush Industries, will work together to scale upfitting of autonomous trucks.

The new manufacturing partnership will see Rousch equipping trucks with the Kodiak Driver AI-powered autonomous solution. 

A Dedicated Production Line

Starting in the second half of 2025, Roush will upfit these trucks in its facility in Livonia, Michigan. 

The first trucks Roush will upfit are expected to be for Kodiak’s customer, Atlas Energy Solutions.

Kodiak and Atlas are working to expand the driverless operations they began in December 2024.

Roush has committed to open a production line for scaled upfitting of trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver’s modular and vehicle-agnostic hardware. 

This hardware includes Kodiak’s proprietary SensorPods, AI compute, Actuation Control Engine safety compute, and redundant actuation elements. 

Roush has also committed to design, develop and implement a flexible manufacturing process that can rapidly scale as Kodiak increases its upfit of Kodiak Driver-powered trucks to meet customer demand.

“Kodiak’s autonomous trucking technology is an exciting advancement in the mobility industry,” said Brad Rzetelny, VP contract manufacturing, Roush. “Together we’re working to build a robust and repeatable manufacturing process that supports Kodiak’s transition from limited production to full-scale deployment. Kodiak’s technology and engineering rigor set a high bar, and we believe we are uniquely positioned to meet that bar at scale.”

Upfitting Expertise

For nearly 50 years Roush has been a trusted name in mobility, Kodiak said in a press release.

Today, the company is recognized as a highly-regarded provider of product development services. These include systems integration, manufacturing, and modification services. 

Roush has developed deep expertise in upfitting and delivering complex vehicles, including autonomous vehicles for multiple developers. The company’s demonstrated track record of bringing innovative products to market establishes a strong foundation for Kodiak to scale the deployment of the Kodiak Driver, the company added.

“Roush’s deep experience upfitting autonomous vehicles makes them an ideal production partner for Kodiak,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak. “We believe that Roush’s strong quality management processes will ensure our customers’ Kodiak Driver-powered trucks will be built to exacting standards, while giving us the manufacturing flexibility to support a wide range of vehicle configurations, including different vehicle and cab types, axle setups, and heavy-duty applications to meet the diverse demands of the trucking industry. Unlike traditional factory-line integration, which is limited to a single configuration, we believe that working with Roush will allow us to move faster and customize vehicles to meet customer needs.”

In December 2024, Kodiak became the first publicly announced company to deliver driverless semi-trucks to a customer. 

In April, Kodiak announced it is seeking to go public through a business combination with Ares Acquisition Corporation II. The proposed business combination is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to approval by AACT and Kodiak stockholders and the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions. 

Upon the closing of the proposed business combination, the combined company is expected to be listed on a national stock exchange. 

By partnering with AACT and accessing the public markets, Kodiak said it intends to accelerate its go-to-market strategy, meet growing customer demand, tackle critical industry challenges and unlock the trucking industry’s estimated $4+ trillion global market opportunity.