In a significant step forward for autonomous B2B logistics, Gatik AI Inc. (Gatik) and The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) announced the successful launch of the companies’ multi-year commercial collaboration, which sees Gatik’s medium-duty autonomous box trucks transporting fresh, customer-favorite products from Kroger’s state-of-the-art Customer Fulfillment Center (CFC) in Dallas, Texas, to multiple retail locations.

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Gatik, Kroger, City of Dallas and Texas State partners celebrate Gatik and Kroger collaboration with ribbon-cutting ceremony in Dallas-Fort Worth. (Photo: Business Wire)

To celebrate the remarkable strides made since beginning local operations earlier this year, the companies came together for a ribbon-cutting ceremony with City of Dallas and Texas state officials including Tennell Atkins, Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member, and representatives from Texas Department of Transportation and Texas Department of Public Safety.

“You are changing the world,” said Tennell Atkins, City of Dallas Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member in his remarks addressed to Gatik and Kroger. “We are looking at the 21st century. Gatik and Kroger’s cutting edge partnership is making an impact in Dallas and throughout the state of Texas. I thank you for your collaboration.”

Over the past eight months, Gatik has safely and consistently made delivery runs multiple times per day, seven days per week across Kroger’s Dallas distribution network. The operations have increased the speed, responsiveness, and frequency of fulfilling Kroger e-commerce orders, further solidifying Kroger's commitment to providing a seamless shopping experience for its customers.

“Kroger is committed to creating a seamless shopping experience for our customers – whether that’s through home delivery, a store pick-up or shopping in the store, and our collaboration with Gatik enables us to continue and enhance that experience,” said Ben Hamilton, Vice President, Logistics and Engineering Network Strategy at Kroger. “What has always been important to customers is that they get what they need on time. But what we have seen through this collaboration is that as important as it is to be on time, it is also really important to have good customer service. With Gatik’s autonomous box trucks, we are able to be quicker with our deliveries, and focus more on the customer service side of things, which ultimately leads to happier customers and repeat customers.”

The state of Texas has emerged as a national leader in the deployment of autonomous technology, and the support from municipal and state government representatives has been instrumental in facilitating Gatik’s successful operations with Kroger. This support underscores the state's commitment to fostering technological innovation, advancing the development of a high-performance transportation ecosystem and ensuring unparalleled economic growth across the state’s supply chain.

“Texas is at the center of Gatik’s commercial growth strategy, so we’re very pleased to see the tangible benefits of our autonomous trucking solution realized through our partnership with Kroger,” said Gautam Narang, CEO and co-founder, Gatik. “The support we’ve received from state and local officials throughout our journey in Texas has been phenomenal, and we’re excited to continue safely scaling our industry-leading Freight-Only operations in the state.”

Gatik's continued growth in the Texas market underscores its dedication to advancing the regional supply chain, providing safe and efficient autonomous middle mile delivery services to several Fortune 500 companies in the state. In 2024 through 2025, the company is on track to achieve Freight-Only operations at scale, which involves deploying Gatik’s autonomous trucks without human operators on board, ensuring the true benefits of autonomous transportation are realized for local communities.

About Gatik

Gatik, the leader in autonomous middle mile logistics, delivers goods safely and efficiently using its fleet of medium duty trucks. The company focuses on short-haul, B2B logistics for Fortune 500 customers including Kroger, Walmart, Loblaw, Tyson Foods and Pitney Bowes, and in 2021 became the first company worldwide to accomplish driverless commercial deliveries on the middle mile.

Gatik’s Class 3 - 7 autonomous box trucks are commercially deployed in multiple markets including Texas, Arkansas and Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2017 by veterans of the autonomous technology industry, Gatik partners with industry leaders such as Isuzu, Ryder, Goodyear and Cummins. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California. For more information, visit www.gatik.ai and follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.

©2023 Gatik AI Inc. All rights reserved. Gatik is a registered trademark and is the property of Gatik AI, Inc. All other marks belong to their respective owners. Terms, conditions, features, support, pricing, and service options are subject to change without notice.

About Kroger

At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit^®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste

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