Goodyear Ventures, the venture arm of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., has made an undisclosed investment in Gatik, an autonomous truck developer.
It's the latest in a string of investments or collaborations struck by the Akron, Ohio-based tire maker with smart-technology companies in the last 12 months.
Palo Alto, California-based Gatik serves the so-called middle mile market that moves goods from a source, such as a port or manufacturer, to a warehouse or distribution center.
Goodyear will work on multiple projects with the California company to make its mid-sized, autonomous box trucks safer and more sustainable to use, the Akron company said in a press release.
The collaboration also will aim at cutting the cost of short-haul, business-to-business logistics for the retail industry, Goodyear said.
Goodyear Ventures was part of an $85-million Series B fundraise for Gatik in August.
The funding round was heavily oversubscribed and brought the total amount raised by Gatik to $114.5 million, the Palo Alto company said in a press release.
Gatik has established the first autonomous middle-mile logistics network in North America and is rapidly expanding its fleet of Class 3-6 autonomous box trucks for customers in markets including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Ontario, Goodyer said.
"This collaboration will enable us to further increase the value we offer our customers across the continent and help define new standards in safety and sustainability for the B2B short-haul sector," said Arjun Narang, chief technology officer and co-founder of Gatik, in Goodyear's release.
Goodyear is a leader in "connected mobility," the development of smart and connected vehicle technologies that minimize fossil fuel use and maximize logistics efficiency.
"By leveraging our advanced tire intelligence solutions, Goodyear can help improve vehicle performance and safety in autonomous transportation," said Chris Helsel, Goodyear's senior vice president of global operations and chief technology officer, in his company's release.
Goodyear shares (Nasdaq: GT) were down nearly 3% to $18.14 in mid-afternoon trading on Tuesday as technology stocks led the market lower for the second straight day.
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