Traton is committing up to $25 million in dedicated research and development funding to PlusAI as part of the partnership. (PlusAI and Traton Group)
January 26, 2026 1:50 PM, EST
Key Takeaways:
- PlusAI and the Traton Group expanded their partnership Jan. 26 with up to $25 million in new R&D funding to advance autonomous trucking in the U.S. and Europe.
- Traton said the investment will speed factory integration of PlusAI’s virtual driver system after achieving Level 4 milestones and autonomous fleet trials in Texas.
- The companies plan further board collaboration and aim to accelerate commercial deployment as PlusAI prepares to go public later this year.
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PlusAI and the Traton Group are expanding their partnership to accelerate the scaled deployment of on-highway autonomous trucking in the U.S. and Europe, the companies announced Jan. 26.
Traton is committing up to $25 million in dedicated research and development funding to PlusAI as part of the partnership. Much of the investment aims to accelerate factory integration of a virtual driver system into its own brand of autonomous trucks. The truck manufacturer also plans to nominate a member to the initial PlusAI board, with the company planning to go public later this year.
“Autonomous trucking is a strategic pillar of Traton’s long-term technology road map,” said Niklas Klingenberg, an executive board member at Traton. “From day one of our collaboration, PlusAI’s technical capabilities and commercial execution have exceeded our expectations, giving us even greater confidence that we have chosen the right partner.”
PlusAI and Traton are building upon their ongoing collaboration that was first announced in 2024. PlusAI’s virtual driver system was selected as the on-highway autonomous driving platform for the various brands under Traton. The companies have since reported multiple technical and operational milestones toward delivering Level 4 autonomous trucking capabilities, including autonomous fleet trials in Texas.
“Together with Traton, we’ve moved autonomy from the lab to factory integration and now to real-world operations,” said David Liu, the co-founder of PlusAI. “We now have a common Level 4 software stack operating in Europe and the U.S., proven integration on truck platforms of Traton’s brands, successful driverless validation and customer pilots underway. The expanded partnership allows us to build on this momentum and accelerate toward scaled commercial deployment.”
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