Humble Robotics Raises $51M in Series A Funding to Develop Autonomous Electric Freight Vehicles
By Greg Bock · · 3 min read
Insider Brief
- Humble Robotics has raised $51 million in Series A funding to develop and test its cabless autonomous electric freight vehicles, bringing total funding to $75 million less than a year after its founding.
- Led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from Eclipse and Energy Impact Partners, the round will fund customer pilots, testing, early manufacturing and development of additional vehicles based on Humble’s modular platform.
- The company’s Humble Hauler is designed for dock-to-dock freight transport between ports, rail terminals and warehouses, targeting regional routes under 250 miles that Humble says account for 87% of U.S. truck tonnage.
Humble Robotics has raised $51 million in Series A funding to advance development and testing of its cabless autonomous electric freight vehicles, bringing its total funding to $75 million less than a year after the company’s founding.
The round was led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from existing investors Eclipse, Energy Impact Partners and others, according to the San Francisco-based startup. The investment comes six months after Humble emerged from stealth with the Humble Hauler, an autonomous electric vehicle designed to move freight between ports, rail terminals, warehouses and distribution centers.
Rather than adding autonomous driving technology to existing trucks, Humble develops its vehicles and AI systems together around the requirements of moving commercial freight such as navigating the different conditions and maneuvers involved in dock-to-dock operations.
Humble is concentrating on regional freight routes of less than 250 miles. According to the company, those routes account for 87% of U.S. truck tonnage.
Expanding Testing and Vehicle Development
The funding will support several areas of development:
- Customer pilots: Expanding testing and validation of the company’s autonomous freight technology.
- Manufacturing: Establishing early production capabilities for its electric vehicles.
- Vehicle development: Extending Humble’s modular platform into a broader range of vehicles designed for different regional freight applications.
“We’ve spent years proving that a truck can drive itself,” noted founer and CEO Eyal Cohen. “The harder question is how to make autonomy something a freight operator can depend on every day. Starting from the ground up gave us the freedom to rethink our vehicles to serve a range of freight needs. The Hauler marked a critical milestone in the new freight economy — with the latest funding, we’re taking the next step toward safer, more reliable and less expensive operations at scale.”
Humble said it is working with customers, industry partners and regulators as it prepares for commercial deployment. The company also pointed out that it is developing systems that can be integrated into existing freight operations, allowing businesses to adopt autonomous electric vehicles without replacing their logistics infrastructure.
Humble’s team brings experience from several autonomous vehicle programs. Cohen previously worked on Apple’s self-driving vehicle project and Uber’s commercial freight efforts, while other team members have backgrounds at Tesla, Waymo and Cruise.
