Gatik AI Inc. today unveiled the scope of a comprehensive safety case assessment for its freight-only (deliveries without a human driver onboard) operations across North America. With this announcement, the Mountain View, CA-based autonomous middle mile logistics leader is committed to launching freight-only operations at scale once thorough evaluations by independent third parties are performed on its ADS (autonomous driving system).

This industry-first initiative underscores what Gatik says is its dedication to setting the highest standards possible for safety in autonomous trucking. Central to this effort, Gatik has engaged two companies that provide the expert resourcing and independence necessary to scale safety.

Edge Case Research, an autonomy risk management provider, has deployed dedicated resources and personnel to implement its DevSafeOps process to support system development, testing, and safety engineering. TÜV SÜD, an independent testing, inspection, and certification organization with extensive experience in autonomous system safety assurance, has been engaged to assess Gatik’s approach to safely deploying freight-only operations and confirm that Gatik’s safety case has fully conformed to the requirements of the UL 4600 Standard for Safety for the Evaluation of Autonomous Products.

Gatik calls its freight-only operations at scale a groundbreaking AV (autonomous vehicle) industry achievement poised to revolutionize middle-mile logistics with safe, reliable AI-driven autonomy. The company says that undergoing an independent safety case assessment before establishing one of the nation’s first freight-only networks is a critical exercise for an autonomous transportation company to undertake. The exhaustive process ensures that all key stakeholders—including customers, federal, state, and local government, the first responder community, and the public—have confidence in the independently verified safety of Gatik’s technology and deployment practices.

“The assessment of our safety case goes beyond a basic review of safety practices and mission statements,” said Gautam Narang, Gatik’s Co-founder and CEO. “We are assessing our complete autonomous ecosystem to ensure safety in the real world, not just on paper. Our goal is to create safer roads for everyone. We’re taking the bold step of mandating an external assessment of our safety case to not only hold ourselves accountable but to help establish a best practice for the entire industry. Now, we encourage our industry peers to adopt this approach.”

In its Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) outlines a 12-point voluntary safety self-assessment (VSSA) that companies are encouraged to consider and publicly release to promote public confidence in ADS (automated driving system) technologies. Its Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0 guidance underscores that organizations involved in the development and testing of automation technology have an important role in not only the safety assurance of ADS-equipped vehicles but also in providing transparency about how safety is being achieved. 

“While we applaud the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s leadership in establishing the Voluntary Safety Self-Assessment process, we at Gatik have chosen to go far beyond what a VSSA calls for with this incredibly comprehensive assessment,” said Dr. Adam Campbell, Gatik’s Head of Safety. “Our safety case approach is tangible, comprehensive, and leverages the benefits of Gatik’s B2B short-haul use case to safely scale across our freight networks. Arriving at this moment in our safety journey has taken 8 years because we move at the speed of safety and learn from our extensive experience in real-world deployments.”

The assessment will encompass over 700 identified safety portfolios and must be completed and closed before Gatik can achieve freight-only operations at scale. It will address key pillars of AV safety such as organizational safety culture, engineering quality (functional, behavioral, and operational safety of the self-driving system), cyber security, vehicle safety, and safety case conformity to UL4600.

“TÜV SÜD has developed its reputation of providing credible and independent safety assessment expertise for over two decades with more than 300 experts across the globe,” said Dr. Fabian Schober, CEO of TÜV SÜD America. “Our collective experience has been brought to bear in developing comprehensive autonomous vehicle safety assessment programs. As Gatik embarks on its expansive safety journey, we are excited to provide assessment services as they prepare for scaled freight-only deployments.”

By using Edge Case’s Open Autonomy Safety Case Framework as a starting point, Gatik is working to conform with the UL4600 standard, including all facets of the technology, operational, and organizational factors in the safety case as well is emblematic of the breadth and depth of safety efforts being undertaken that go well beyond any requirement imposed by regulations.

“Edge Case Research is proud to partner with Gatik in their pursuit of the highest safety standards in autonomous trucking,” said Michael Wagner, CEO at Edge Case Research. “Their commitment to independent safety assessment sets a benchmark for the industry. We hope others in the space will follow suit in this transparent approach and believe it will contribute to building public trust and ensuring the safe integration of autonomous vehicles on our roads.”

As part of the company’s commitment to transparency across all aspects of its approach to safety, Gatik will be publicly sharing information on progress made towards completion of the safety case program prior to deployment of freight-only operations.

Founded in 2017 by veterans of the autonomous technology industry, Gatik aims to lead in middle-mile B2B logistics with autonomous transportation-as-a-service (ATaaS) and prioritize safe, consistent deliveries and streamlined freight movement by reducing congestion. In 2021, the company launched what it says was the world’s first fully driverless commercial transportation service with Walmart. Gatik’s Class 3-7 autonomous box trucks are commercially deployed in multiple markets including Texas, Arkansas, and Ontario, and the company is partnered with industry leaders including Isuzu Motors, Cummins, Ryder, and Goodyear.

Gatik’s momentum continues to build as the company leverages a series of strategic investment partnerships to solidify its leadership in the middle-mile segment of the supply chain. One of the latest was announced in August from Nippon Express Holdings that will strengthen Gatik’s position in the North American logistics landscape, accelerating the deployment of its autonomous technology across the region.

“Middle-mile autonomy is undoubtedly the first application in autonomous trucking to achieve scale in commercial applications,” said Narang. “It’s also critical for solving the most pressing logistics issues businesses are facing today—ensuring faster deliveries, addressing growing labor shortages, reducing costs, and meeting the rising demand for goods in this era of rapid e-commerce growth.”

Gatik just last month made a few key executive additions to accelerate the deployment and scaling of its autonomous delivery network.

It appointed Clint Kneip as Head of First Responder Engagement. He will be leading the charge in building strong relationships between Gatik and first responder agencies to foster transparency and collaboration on safety protocols and emergency response procedures.

The company also added Aleksandr Petiushko as head of its new AI Research Group. Formerly the Head of Machine Learning Research at Nuro, he brings to Gatik more expertise in machine learning, integrating innovative theoretical research with applied, real-world implementations.

Gatik’s AI Research Group is establishing partnerships with top-tier academic institutions, leading scientists, and research experts to drive AI innovations, facilitating access to cutting-edge research and elite talent. The group’s research framework focuses on the full autonomy stack, leveraging state-of-the-art AI methodologies that fuse academic rigor with industrial scalability.

The strategy aims to enhance critical areas of the autonomy stack, focusing on improving system functionalities like predictive modeling, mapping accuracy, perception algorithms, and decision-making processes. By optimizing these components, the goal is to significantly boost the efficiency, safety, and reliability of autonomous systems in complex operational design domains.