Truck Company Run By 21-Year-Old Hopes To Lead Self-Driving Revolution

Most of us probably weren’t doing anything too significant when we were 21. Alex Rodrigues, however, could be paving the way for the future of transportation.

Rodrigues and Brandon Moak, also 21, launched their new self-driving truck company Embark on Friday, following a round of funding that landed investments from Maven Ventures and SV Angels, USA TODAY reports. Embark currently has a 10-person team that’s comprised of former SpaceX and Audi employees.

Moak and Rodrigues met while attending the University of Waterloo in Ontario, began developing an autonomous tractor trailer last summer and received permission in January to test it on Nevada’s highways.

“We want to focus on trucking as opposed to cars because we think this is an area with an acute problem to solve, namely a shortage of long-haul drivers,” Rodrigues told USA TODAY. “No one really wants to be away from home for long periods of time, and there’s a (10-times) turnover rate for those drivers compared to people who work locally.”

Since January, Embark’s semi has logged roughly 10,000 miles, which is impressive considering just two years ago Rodrigues was building a driverless golf cart in his parents’ garage for $10,000. Embark isn’t the first self-driving truck startup, however, nor is it the biggest player in the game.

Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, successfully tested its autonomous truck on the Autobahn in 2014, and became the first company to test a driverless semi in Nevada in 2015. Uber’s company Otto also completed a long-haul delivery in 2016, though it is now facing an intellectual property lawsuit from Waymo.

Rodrigues reportedly isn’t concerned about being a small fish in a big pond, insisting the industry has room for multiple companies to succeed.

“There’s a long way to go still, and I don’t think it’s the kind of race where the first person to develop the best tech wins,” Rodrigues said. “It will likely come down to having the best partnerships and working with regulators.”

Although Embark’s fleet currently consists of just one vehicle, it reportedly hopes to add more this year.

Thumbnail photo via Embark