According to media reports, Swedish autonomous truck startup Einride is in discussions with banks about going public in the U.S. stock market later this year.
Sources reveal that Einride's major shareholders include private equity firm EQT and U.S. investment management company Capital Group. The company could go public as early as this fall. Leveraging strong market interest in autonomous driving and AI technology, Einride is also seeking to raise at least $200 million in a pre-IPO funding round.
This funding round could value Einride at $3 billion, up from its previous valuation of $1.1 billion. Based on market demand for autonomous trucks and self-driving technology, banks estimate the company's IPO valuation could exceed $5 billion. In 2024, Einride generated $43 million in revenue, with an order volume of approximately $830 million.
This means Einride is following in the footsteps of Swedish startups like music streaming service Spotify and fintech company Klarna, becoming the latest European startup aiming for a U.S. stock market listing. The U.S. is Einride's largest market, with many of its customers and investors based there.
A source familiar with the listing process stated, "The autonomous trucking sector is very hot right now. There is strong market interest in AI-driven industries. Several of Einride's peers are valued highly."
Einride declined to comment on the report.
Additionally, Einride is set to announce that it has launched operations in the United Arab Emirates, which could become the world's largest autonomous trucking project. Originally announced in 2023, the project involves 200 autonomous trucks and 100 human-driven vehicles, forming a planned 550-kilometer freight network across the UAE.
Einride was founded in 2016 in Sweden by Robert Falck and Linnéa Kornehed Falck. The company's distinctive-looking autonomous electric trucks entered commercial operation in 2018. A year later, it became the first company to deploy fully autonomous trucks on public roads.
While much of the attention in autonomous driving has focused on self-driving taxis, driverless heavy trucks have emerged as another key area of competition among startups.
The global road freight market is valued at $4.6 trillion, with significant potential for autonomous driving applications due to driver shortages, rising transportation costs, and increasing e-commerce shipments.
Consulting firm McKinsey estimates that by 2035, the global autonomous heavy truck market will generate $616 billion in revenue, with $327 billion coming from China, $178 billion from the U.S., and $112 billion from Europe.
