At Bot Auto, we deploy autonomy in a Transportation-as-a-Service strategy. We're the motor carrier. Brett Suma explains why this model works & why Driver-as-a-Service is not yet a scalable reality for AV trucking.
Bot Auto retweeted
"If you have a safe response window for five seconds, you will never scale your business."
Xiaodi Hou, CEO of @BotAutoAV, on the number he says matters most in driverless trucking.
The most important number is the time it takes for a truck to handle things on its own before a human is guaranteed to step in.
Bot Auto's window was one minute at AUTONOMOUS in July.
Should the industry agree on a minimum and how much would this impact scale?
He was joined by @torc_robotics, @anyscalecompute & @KodiakRobotics to discuss the race to driverless freight.
Watch the full clip 👇
Autonomous vehicles are becoming a common sight in the US. Freight tells a different story.
But that's about to change.
Whilst commercial routes are mostly in the south for now, things are expected to scale soon.
- Kodiak will go driverless on highways by the end of 2026.
- Torc launches commercially in 2027.
- California opened its roads to heavy autonomous trucks this year.
Watch this space 👀
👉 @autonomousevent for physical AI & robotics coverage, insights a flagship event.
This team is doing amazing things: freightwaves.com/news/bot-au…
Bot Auto retweeted
Brett Suma, President and COO of Bot Auto, breaks down the core driver behind the company's 270% revenue growth and ~350 monthly load volume scaling between May and August.
Suma explains that scaling driverless technology demands total alignment around customer-aware execution and high asset utilization. Because autonomous Class 8 tractors represent high-value, high-capital assets, deploying them into low-value, non-revenue promotional demos or static trade show displays degrades asset economics.
Bot Auto retweeted
Brett Suma, President and COO of Bot Auto, details the AI architecture and safety redundancy engineering behind their autonomous Class 8 trucks. Suma reveals that Bot Auto runs 100 million simulated miles every single day, applying a foundation AI model to an expansive world model.
This massive synthetic simulation volume exposes the autonomous software to extreme edge cases and rare highway scenarios that driverless trucks would almost never encounter in physical road testing—allowing engineers to solve edge-case behaviors before software updates hit physical trucks.
Bot Auto retweeted
Brett Suma, President and COO of Bot Auto, explains why the company deliberately waited before expanding its autonomous Class 8 fleet.
Suma outlines a conservative capital allocation strategy: raising equity simply to purchase depreciating Class 8 tractors fitted with $350,000 Autonomous Driving System (ADS) stacks creates unsustainable capital dilution and negative operating margins.
Keep an eye out for President & COO Brett Suma, live on FreightWaves Today, in the next few minutes!
FreightWaves Today | October 20 xitter.cf/i/broadcasts/1jxXgBNVn…
Bot Auto retweeted
We’re very excited to announce our partnership to develop and deploy next-generation compute platforms for our @BotAutoAV autonomous trucks. This has been the key to unlocking scalability. 🔑 🤖
Excited to see @BotAutoAV select @Lenovo AD1, built on NVIDIA Hyperion, as the production compute platform for its Class 8 driverless trucks.
With dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor and NVIDIA Halos at its core, the AD1 is built to scale driverless freight.
Here’s to the long haul! 🚛
Bot Auto retweeted
Great things happening at @BotAutoAV.
lnkd.in/p/gy-7bQ2k
Bot Auto retweeted
Excited to see @BotAutoAV select @Lenovo AD1, built on NVIDIA Hyperion, as the production compute platform for its Class 8 driverless trucks.
With dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor and NVIDIA Halos at its core, the AD1 is built to scale driverless freight.
Here’s to the long haul! 🚛
To scale autonomous trucking, you need reliable software AND sensible unit economics. Today, we’re excited to announce our use of @Lenovo’s L4 Autonomous Driving Domain Controller AD1 (built on @NVIDIA Hyperion) as our production compute platform for Class 8 driverless trucks.
This changes the game for driverless freight making total hardware BOM (compute + sensors) targeted at $50,000/truck 3x-8x lower than industry benchmarks.
Real scale requires production economics. Excited to build the future of freight with NVIDIA and Lenovo.
bot.auto/media/bot-auto-sele…
To scale autonomous trucking, you need reliable software AND sensible unit economics. Today, we’re excited to announce our use of @Lenovo’s L4 Autonomous Driving Domain Controller AD1 (built on @NVIDIA Hyperion) as our production compute platform for Class 8 driverless trucks.
This changes the game for driverless freight making total hardware BOM (compute + sensors) targeted at $50,000/truck 3x-8x lower than industry benchmarks.
Real scale requires production economics. Excited to build the future of freight with NVIDIA and Lenovo.
bot.auto/media/bot-auto-sele…
Bot Auto retweeted
T-minus 2 days until our fourth Urban Autonomy Summit, presented by @EmpiricEarth in Austin on October 14 🚗🚛
Our final panel, “From Long Haul to Last Mile: AVs Take on New Form Factors,” will be moderated by @axios Austin Reporter @nicolecobler, featuring:
@ArmirHarris — CEO, @charter_up
@dnueman — Vice President of Investor Relations, @PlusAI_Inc
Evan O'Brien — Director of Enterprise Growth, @EmpiricEarth
Kaylee Nix — Head of Communications, @BotAutoAV
Autonomous tech is expanding across the entire logistics and transit spectrum—from long-haul trucking to middle-mile freight, shuttles, and last-mile delivery. This panel will explore where autonomy delivers the most value today, how to integrate AVs into existing transport networks, and what it takes to scale commercial operations. 🚚⚡️
See everyone on Wednesday, October 14!🎟️
RSVP to attend here 👉 luma.com/vwejx7uw
Bot Auto retweeted
My thoughts on first responder interactions with autonomous trucks. @BotAutoAV
lnkd.in/p/gT9ZmXYc
Bot Auto wholeheartedly supports and applauds the @FMCSA and Administrator Barrs for granting a 5-year exemption for cab-mounted warning beacons. This regulatory move allows us to keep operating safely, serve our customers, and innovate for the next generation of trucking.
Federal regulators have given autonomous truck operators a five-year exemption allowing cab-mounted warning beacons in place of reflective triangles — replacing a series of short-term waivers that had kept the industry in a state of uncertainty. The rule change reflects a basic reality of driverless trucking: there is no one to step out and place triangles on the road.
vist.ly/5mkq2
Bot Auto retweeted
At @BotAutoAV we’re always working to be safer and to protect our first responders.
lnkd.in/p/ghgJ9_vt
Bot Auto retweeted
Rank change in the Autonomous Trucks Index. @BotAutoAV moves up to No. 3, from No. 4.
Excited for @KayleeNixWX to take the stage at Urban Autonomy Summit next week!
🌉 Excited to announce the speaker lineup for our fourth Urban Autonomy Summit, presented by @EmpiricEarth, taking place next week in Austin on Wednesday, Oct 14, 2026!
After bringing together hundreds of operators, policymakers, and mobility leaders across our NYC, SF and Detroit editions, we’re excited to bring the Urban Autonomy Summit to Austin for the first time for an afternoon/evening of panels, networking 🍸, and candid conversations around the future of autonomy, in one of the top new tech cities!
Our speakers include:
Yulia Shveyko, Head of Public Affairs at @Avrideai
@ben_seidl, CEO & Co-Founder at @goautolane
Nick Allen, Head of AV/Mobility at @TaskUs
Daniel Severin, Head of Global Mobility Insurance at The Ride Platform
Julia Pickar, Transportation & Technology Journalist at @NPR /@Marketplace
@GetBrandFlakes, VP of Marketing at @gridwise_io
Ted Silverman, Chief Operating Officer at LPRI
Sloane Perras, Chief Administrative Officer at @volterapower
Rachel Castignoli, Senior Consultant - Transportation & Public Works at @austintexasgov
@ArmirHarris, Chief Executive Officer at @charter_up
Kaylee Nix, Head of Communications at @BotAutoAV
@dnueman, Vice President of Investor Relations at @PlusAI_Inc
Evan O’Brien, Director of Enterprise Growth at @EmpiricEarth
@nicolecobler, Austin Reporter at @axios
Apply to attend here 👉 luma.com/vwejx7uw
Big thanks to our partners The Ride Platform, @EmpiricEarth, EVKON, @charter_up, @volterapower, @gridwise_io, @MOIAmobility, @TaskUs, @Mobileye, @Verizon, @terawattinfra, and @goautolane for making this event possible.
Bot Auto retweeted
🌉 Excited to announce the speaker lineup for our fourth Urban Autonomy Summit, presented by @EmpiricEarth, taking place next week in Austin on Wednesday, Oct 14, 2026!
After bringing together hundreds of operators, policymakers, and mobility leaders across our NYC, SF and Detroit editions, we’re excited to bring the Urban Autonomy Summit to Austin for the first time for an afternoon/evening of panels, networking 🍸, and candid conversations around the future of autonomy, in one of the top new tech cities!
Our speakers include:
Yulia Shveyko, Head of Public Affairs at @Avrideai
@ben_seidl, CEO & Co-Founder at @goautolane
Nick Allen, Head of AV/Mobility at @TaskUs
Daniel Severin, Head of Global Mobility Insurance at The Ride Platform
Julia Pickar, Transportation & Technology Journalist at @NPR /@Marketplace
@GetBrandFlakes, VP of Marketing at @gridwise_io
Ted Silverman, Chief Operating Officer at LPRI
Sloane Perras, Chief Administrative Officer at @volterapower
Rachel Castignoli, Senior Consultant - Transportation & Public Works at @austintexasgov
@ArmirHarris, Chief Executive Officer at @charter_up
Kaylee Nix, Head of Communications at @BotAutoAV
@dnueman, Vice President of Investor Relations at @PlusAI_Inc
Evan O’Brien, Director of Enterprise Growth at @EmpiricEarth
@nicolecobler, Austin Reporter at @axios
Apply to attend here 👉 luma.com/vwejx7uw
Big thanks to our partners The Ride Platform, @EmpiricEarth, EVKON, @charter_up, @volterapower, @gridwise_io, @MOIAmobility, @TaskUs, @Mobileye, @Verizon, @terawattinfra, and @goautolane for making this event possible.
Two weeks ago, our team participated in a simulated traffic stop with a K9 unit of the Texas Department of Public Safety. This mission-critical training was designed to teach our autonomy system how to act when pulled over for secondary screening at a routine CMV checkpoint, but also to teach Texas State Troopers how to better interact around an autonomous truck.
Like @teeter_bart says, safe operations as an autonomous company come from "constant communication and constant education, so no one is caught unprepared."
Inspections are a normal part of operating as a motor carrier, but things get complicated when 4-legged officers hit the scene.
This training is just one piece of our promise to put safety first by nurturing our relationship with first responders, and we will never stop working to be the safest trucking company on the road.




















