Kodiak AI (NASDAQ:KDK) reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $3.5 million, up 91% sequentially, as the autonomous-trucking company expanded its commercial driverless fleet and advanced preparations for a targeted long-haul launch by year-end.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer Don Burnette said the company added seven driverless trucks during the quarter, bringing its customer-owned fleet to 35 trucks operating without a human in the cab. As of quarter-end, those trucks had logged more than 40,000 paid driverless hours, up 71% from the end of the first quarter and more than 20 times the year-earlier level.
Long-Haul Readiness Reaches 91%
Kodiak said its long-haul autonomous readiness measure reached 91% as of July, up five percentage points in three months. The metric represents the percentage of safety-case claims completed for the company’s planned long-haul launch.
Burnette said Kodiak had closed “the vast majority” of its long-haul safety claims, including several technically challenging items involving vehicle-control architecture, throttle, brake and steering controls, redundant steering, and probabilistic risk assessment.
The company continues to target a driverless long-haul launch by the end of 2026. Burnette told analysts that Kodiak expects the readiness measure to accelerate toward 100% through the remainder of the year, though he did not detail the remaining safety-case claims.
Kodiak highlighted its AI-powered BreakPoint simulation technology, which it said can execute more than 1 million simulations per hour at a cost of about one-tenth of a penny per simulation. Burnette said the tool is designed to identify rare and difficult scenarios, allowing engineers to focus on close calls, near misses and potential collisions rather than more routine driving situations.
The company said it combines simulation with closed-course testing and real-world validation to support its safety-case work.
Atlas Fleet Expands Across OEM Platforms
Atlas, Kodiak’s industrial customer, had a fleet of 35 Kodiak-equipped trucks at quarter-end. Atlas selected Daimler Truck North America’s Western Star 49X platform for further expansion, with upfit partner Roush beginning vehicle production using Kodiak’s seventh-generation autonomous platform.
Kodiak expects Atlas to operate a high-30s number of driverless trucks by the end of the third quarter. The company said additions will be more modest in the third quarter as it transitions to the new OEM platform, followed by an expected acceleration in deployments during the fourth quarter.
Kodiak reiterated that it expects to deploy a similar number of driverless trucks in the second half of 2026 as in the first half and to complete Atlas’ initial 100-truck commitment by the end of the first half of 2027.
Burnette said Kodiak does not plan to retrofit its prior-generation systems with Gen7 hardware or discontinue support for existing trucks. New trucks delivered beginning in the third quarter will use Gen7, while prior-generation systems will continue to be supported over the life of their trucks.
Atlas has expanded Kodiak truck operations to serve two Dune Express load-out facilities at the same time, with the facilities approximately 90 minutes apart. Kodiak also said Atlas is serving certain customer well sites solely with Kodiak trucks.
The company recently agreed with Atlas on a delivery timetable intended to better coordinate production, deployment and expansion across the Permian Basin. Burnette said Atlas ultimately controls where and how its owned trucks operate once Kodiak has approved an operational domain for driverless use.
Gen7 Platform Targets Cost, Reliability Improvements
Kodiak introduced its Gen7 platform on the Western Star 49X. The company said the platform has nearly 50% more compute power than the prior generation, a more compact form factor and compatibility with lower-cost day-cab truck configurations.
Burnette said Kodiak moved computing equipment into the front passenger area of the cab and addressed associated space, cooling, power and thermal-management challenges. He said the day-cab configuration is particularly relevant in the Permian, where such trucks are common.
Initial mechanical stress testing indicates that Gen7 SensorPods and compute enclosures could have nearly 50% greater operational lifetime than prior models, Kodiak said. Burnette said the company intends for Gen7 to outlast the typical useful life of a truck in the Permian, which he described as about four years.
Chief Financial Officer Surajit Datta said Gen7 is expected to produce a low-double-digit reduction in autonomous-vehicle hardware costs from the baseline cost. He said future cost improvements are also expected from supply-chain efforts with Bosch and from larger production scale, with more benefits from the Bosch work expected in 2027 and beyond.
Kodiak said its latest driverless software release includes new AI perception models, improved obstacle and debris handling, and enhanced vehicle controls. The company said driving efficiency in the Permian increased more than 30% from the prior software release.
Financial Results and Outlook
Second-quarter revenue growth was driven primarily by expansion of driver-as-a-service revenue, Datta said. Revenue also included a one-time contribution of slightly more than $1 million from Kodiak’s autonomous-trucking demonstration program with DriveOhio.
- GAAP operating loss was $43.7 million.
- Non-GAAP operating loss was $37.3 million, excluding stock-based compensation.
- Capital expenditures totaled approximately $3.9 million.
- Free cash flow was negative $38 million.
- Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $151 million at quarter-end.
Kodiak expects third-quarter free cash flow of negative $39 million to negative $41 million, reflecting continued investment in long-haul testing, development and commercial deployment. The company narrowed its full-year 2026 free-cash-flow outlook to negative $155 million to negative $162 million, compared with its previous range of negative $155 million to negative $165 million.
Beyond its Atlas deployment, Kodiak said it expects to begin an international pilot in Canada with wood-products company West Fraser in the coming weeks. The pilot will involve hauling flatbed trailers in logging operations and is expected to last several weeks during the third quarter, after which the companies could discuss a potential contractual agreement.
The company also cited ongoing defense work, including a collaboration with General Dynamics Land Systems, participation in the Defense Innovation Unit’s ROADS program, and work on the U.S. Marine Corps’ ROGUE-Fires program. Burnette cautioned that the size and timing of defense opportunities remain difficult to predict and said Kodiak views them as additive to its industrial and planned long-haul businesses.
About Kodiak AI (NASDAQ:KDK)
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to as our initial business combination. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.
