Kodiak to run driverless IKEA freight on I-45 by year-end

Kodiak AI named IKEA Supply as its launch shipper for unsupervised, driver-out long-haul service, targeting the end of 2026 on a 219-mile stretch of Interstate 45 between the Dallas–Fort Worth and Houston areas, the company announced September 29.

The launch program has been running with a safety observer since August; Kodiak says the observer has not touched the wheel on recent Lancaster-to-Houston runs, and its Autonomy Readiness Measure for the long-haul domain stands at 93% — the company considers itself driver-out-ready at 100%. Over four years hauling for IKEA, Kodiak has delivered more than 1,300 loads and logged 750,000-plus autonomous miles with an observer aboard. The company went public in the fourth quarter of 2025.

"Our progress since beginning our final push towards driverless commercial deliveries has been incredible, and it is a strong signal we are ready to scale unsupervised driverless service on long-haul lanes," founder and CEO Don Burnette said in a September 25 press release.

Why it matters

This is a company announcement, not yet live service — observers are still in the cabs. But a driver-out long-haul launch with a blue-chip shipper would be the first real-world test of autonomous trucking on a major freight corridor, and the data from it will shape insurance, regulation, and labor politics for years. Watch the year-end target.