Torc Robotics leverages Uber Freight network to accelerate autonomous trucking development

The promise and opportunity of autonomous Class 8 trucks are clear, which is why today Uber Freight is announcing a new partnership with Torc Robotics, an autonomous trucking company and independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG. Through this agreement, Torc will leverage insights from Uber Freight’s network to enhance the development and deployment roadmap for autonomous trucks. 

For autonomous trucks to reach their full potential and have an immediate impact on today’s roads, it’s critical the entire ecosystem understands how to seamlessly integrate this technology into existing supply chains, ensuring a smooth transition toward building a more efficient and sustainable logistics ecosystem. Uber Freight’s vast logistics network—one of the most comprehensive in the world, representing $18 billion in active Freight Under Management (FUM) and over 100,000 digitally-enabled carriers—holds critical learnings about how goods move successfully nationwide. These insights, such as analyzing shippers’ networks and volume patterns to identify the most effective lanes and most suitable commercial applications for autonomous trucking deployment, are essential to paving the way for the integration of this technology long-term. 

Through this partnership, Torc will tap directly into Uber Freight’s network to accelerate the development of autonomous trucks, exploring insights including, but not limited to, which lanes are optimal for deployment, how to prioritize the rollout of lanes and various operational design domains, balancing supply and demand across supply chains with autonomous trucks, where to build transfer hubs to minimize local haul costs, and more.

“As we have always said, collaboration in the autonomous trucking industry is paramount to the technology’s deployment at scale. Our partnership with Uber Freight is a prime example of how working together with industry players will ensure the technology is integrated seamlessly, safely, and efficiently,” said Peter Vaughan Schmidt, Torc’s CEO. “This partnership is a natural expansion of our initial working relationship through TAAC, and leveraging Uber Freight’s data and insights will help our mission to commercialize autonomous trucks at scale by 2027.”

This partnership is a significant step forward toward commercial autonomous trucking adoption. Autonomous trucks present a monumental opportunity to revolutionize the logistics industry as we know it and have the ability to address major industry pain points such as labor force gaps, driver productivity and driver safety. Together, Uber Freight and Torc are creating a future where autonomous trucking technology is deployed seamlessly, safely and efficiently—transcending the initial barriers of commercial adoption. 

“Torc is a proven pioneer in autonomous trucking, and we’re thrilled to collaborate with them on the road ahead,” said Lior Ron, Uber Freight founder and CEO. “We firmly believe that by collaborating with partners early on, we are helping incorporate the important voices of customers and carriers across the Uber Freight network and shaping the future of freight with autonomous trucks. In partnering with Torc, we’re able to provide a leader in this space with rich insights regarding how goods move, which in turn will result not only in more access to safer autonomous trucks, but ultimately build more reliable and efficient supply chains.”  

To deploy these innovative assets at scale and achieve a successful autonomous future, continued strategic collaboration with all players across the industry is necessary. In addition to this partnership, Uber Freight is a longstanding member of the Torc Autonomous Advisory Council (TAAC), a council comprised of key freight industry players who provide strategic guidance to Torc. This includes Schneider, C.R. England, Penske, Ryder and other industry leaders, as well as Torc’s majority stakeholder, Daimler Truck AG.

Uber Freight is the preferred network for autonomous truck deployment. By partnering with Torc—in addition to our other partnerships with Aurora, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, and Waabi—we are taking another step forward to unlocking an autonomous trucking future. With the most extensive autonomous freight network in North America, Uber Freight has a growing waitlist of companies eager to adopt and learn about each of the different autonomous trucking solutions integrated and offered on the Uber Freight platform today, in addition to thousands of digitally-enabled drivers ready to start and complete autonomous trucking loads across local geographies—bringing the full package of autonomous trucking tools and capacity needed to optimize supply chains of all sizes. 

To learn more about our Torc Robotics partnership and moving autonomous freight, contact your account manager or reach out to us at autonomous-uf@uber.com.