A former Apple and Uber engineer raised $51 million to rethink the self-driving truck

The Humble Hauler Humble Robotics Humble Robotics raised $51 million to build electric self-driving trucks without cabs. Founder Eyal Cohen previously worked at Apple, Uber, and Waabi. The startup expects commercial operations to begin in the third quarter of 2027. Many self-driving truck companies are trying to teach existing trucks to drive themselves. Humble Robotics thinks the truck itself needs a rethink. The San Francisco startup, which is building electric self-driving trucks without drivers' cabs, has raised $51 million, the company exclusively told Business Insider. The round was led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from existing investors Eclipse and Energy Impact Partners. It brings Humble's total funding to $75 million. The company declined to disclose its valuation. Humble's founder and CEO, Eyal Cohen, has spent much of his career chasing the promise of autonomous driving. He worked on Apple's now-defunct self-driving car project, Uber's autonomous driving effort, and at self-driving trucking startup Waabi. Cohen founded Humble last year, betting that building the truck and its self-driving system together would give it an edge over rivals retrofitting vehicles originally designed for human drivers. Humble is raising money at a time when investors are pouring billions into robotics and physical AI. But self-driving trucks are a reminder of how difficult it is to get machines to work in the real world. Humble has yet to begin moving freight commercially. Cohen said customer pilots will start in the first quarter of 2027 with conventional trucks moving freight to collect data. The company will then simulate the routes and test them in a virtual environment before deploying its own vehicle called the Humble Hauler. Cohen expects commercial operations to begin in the third quarter of 2027. And although Humble holds a California permit to test its vehicles with a safety driver, it would need to clear additional regulatory steps before testing without a driver or deploying commercial service in the state. The company is going after regional routes, generally under 250 miles, connecting ports, warehouses, and distribution centers. According to federal data, 87% of goods shipped by truck in the US by weight traveled less than 250 miles in 2021. Cohen also sees an opening in an industry that has long struggled to recruit and retain drivers. He argues that autonomous trucks could handle undesirable shifts and repetitive routes, freeing human drivers for other work. "Our trucks can do a 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. shift that nobody wants to do," said Cohen. "There are also repetitive routes that only go a few miles, which is not an ideal route for a driver who would rather be doing higher-value work." The Humble Robotics team Humble Robotics Self-driving trucks were once expected to hit the road before robotaxis. Highways, after all, have fewer pedestrians, cyclists, and unpredictable turns than city streets. But the consequences of getting something wrong can be much greater. A fully loaded truck takes longer to stop than a passenger car, and one stranded on a highway can become a serious hazard. After years of delays and false starts, some companies are finally putting driverless trucks to commercial use. Pittsburgh-based Aurora has launched commercial driverless freight service in Texas and is working with truckmakers PACCAR and Volvo. Bay Area-based Kodiak AI plans to begin hauling Ikea freight without a driver in the cab by the end of the year, with human drivers handling the first and last miles. Humble is designing its trucks to navigate the messier parts of a freight journey, from crowded industrial sites to loading docks. "We really wanted to redesign the truck for a fully autonomous future, which is why it's electric and doesn't have a cab," Cohen said. Humble is testing its truck at a former dynamite factory across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, which UC Berkeley runs as a research and development space for students and startups. The company demonstrated its truck navigating stop signs, wild turkeys, and students wandering between buildings. The enormous vehicle still had a temporary cab for supervised testing, but Humble says the finished truck will resemble a giant skateboard capable of carrying 40-foot shipping containers with no space for a human driver. Humble has recruited employees from Tesla, Waymo, and Cruise to turn its prototype into a business. Cohen said he eventually wants to build an entire family of autonomous vehicles for different cargo types and routes. Have a tip? Contact Rya Jetha via email at rjetha@businessinsider.com or Signal at rjetha.07. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read the original article on Business Insider