Autonomous trucking technology company Kodiak announced the next steps in a years-long partnership with furniture giant IKEA.
In a September 29 news release, Kodiak announced that “unsupervised driverless operations” for trucks hauling IKEA freight are “only months away” and expected to take place later in 2026.
Later this year, IKEA becomes Kodiak’s first driverless launch partner, with service starting on the same stretch of I-45 we’ve tested safely for four years.
We’re finalizing the safety case, mapping out the launch details, and practicing how to pronounce “FÖRARLÖS LASTBIL.”… pic.twitter.com/txr4Pg0cq0
— Kodiak AI (@KodiakRobotics) September 29, 2026
The “driver-out” operations will take place on I-45 in Texas with “no human in the cab,” the company said.
“The initial driver-out leg will cover 219 miles, primarily along Interstate 45 between Kodiak’s Houston and Dallas-area facilities. This is part of the established 292-mile delivery route connecting the IKEA distribution center in Baytown with the IKEA store in Frisco,” said Kodiak.
Kodiak and IKEA have been working towards driverless operations for four years. As part of the partnership between the two companies, Kodiak’s autonomous trucks have delivered more than 1,300 loads and traveled over 750,000 miles “while autonomously carrying IKEA goods with a safety observer aboard.”
Kodiak says that its autonomous truck technology has delivered IKEA freight along the I-45 route safely for four years.
Ahead of the launch, Kodiak says it is completing a highway launch safety case, “a structured, evidence-backed argument that the Kodiak Driver, our autonomous driving system, is safe to operate without a human on board in a defined operating area.”
“By concentrating on long-haul routes, Kodiak and IKEA have learned how adopting autonomous truck technology can enhance human driver’s quality of life, focusing their efforts on the local driving jobs that most prefer. They can reduce their time sleeping on the side of the highway and instead be home with family and friends,” the company said.
