It's No Tesla Semi Truck, But Einride Raises $25M To Expand EV Trucks

Einride is bound to hit U.S. roads soon as it secured $25 million to fund its expansion ambitions.

The Swedish startup that manufactures autonomous transport pods received the Series A funding from six investors led by EQT Ventures and NordicNinja VC, and the remaining four are Ericsson Ventures, Norrsken Foundation, Plum Alley Investments, and Plug and Play Ventures.

Einride now has a total funding amount of $32.3 million, according to CrunchBase.

Founded in 2016, Einride is developing a more sustainable solution for transport. Its vehicle doesn't have a driver's cabin and can load up to 26 tonnes. The company also estimates that they can substantially reduce the costs of businesses that transport using diesel trucks.

Elon Musk's proposed Tesla Semi will have the upper hand against Einiride, however, when it comes to the distance it can travel at 400 miles per charge versus Einride's 124, but Einride has the better technology. The electric vehicle of the Swede company called T-pod is a Level 4 autonomous vehicle that can be controlled remotely.

Einride partnered with Nvidia in 2018 to use the technology company's autonomous driving platform. So far this year, they were able to successfully deploy the T-pod on a short route between a shipping terminal and a warehouse with a speed of 5 kph.

"This public road permit is a major milestone ... and it is a step to commercializing autonomous technology on roads," founder and CEO Robert Falck told Reuters.

Einride plans to introduce its pods to logistics companies marked by their partnership with DB Schenker. The company is also supplying Lidl, a supermarket chain, with their vehicles.

"Our ambition is to disrupt the transport industry, and closing our series A brings us one step closer to that goal," said Falck. "The funding will allow us to start expanding in the U.S., deliver on our technology road map, and to meet rapidly increasing customer demand."

The $25 million will be used expanding its workforce, developing its software platform, and pursuing its expansion plans. Einride also has orders from the delivery company Svenska Retursystem and five Fortune 500 retail companies.