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PlusAI Moves a Step Closer to Going Public
Self-Driving Truck Developer Readies Test Runs in Spain
Key Takeaways:
- Plus Automation moved closer to going public after the SEC cleared its SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX, with shareholders voting Feb. 3 and a Nasdaq listing expected this quarter.
- The autonomous trucking company targets a 2027 commercial launch of its SuperDrive software and would be valued at about $1.2 billion, down from a planned $3.3 billion deal scrapped in 2021.
- PlusAI also expanded its partnership with Iveco to test autonomous heavy-duty trucks in Spain while reporting progress on safety and autonomy metrics and ongoing pilots in Texas and Sweden.
Self-driving truck developer Plus Automation recently took another step toward going public and got a few steps closer to the commercial launch of its automated software for Class 8 trucks.
PlusAI, whose SuperDrive software will operate factory-built autonomous trucks, is working toward a commercial launch in 2027. The company has partnerships with manufacturers including Traton Group’s International Motors, Scania and MAN along with Iveco and Hyundai.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based PlusAI is set to go public on the Nasdaq exchange, possibly before the end of the current quarter. The company will enter the public market in the wake of its merger with special purpose acquisition company Churchill Capital Corp IX.
The tech company said Jan. 13 that the Securities and Exchange Commission declared the merger registration effective Jan. 12.
Churchill shareholders will vote on whether to approve the merger at a Feb. 3 meeting.
The SPAC is controlled by former investment banker Michael Klein, who also took automaker Lucid Motors public.
This is PlusAI’s second attempt to go public. The company announced plans to merge with Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V in a 2021 deal that valued the company at $3.3 billion. But that combination was dissolved in November 2021, as were the plans to list.
Following the merger with Churchill and listing on Nasdaq, PlusAI would be valued at $1.2 billion, the partners said when announcing the deal in June. The merger is expected to close by the end of the first quarter.
Iveco Development Partnership Advances
On the same day the SEC greenlit the next step on the path to PlusAI going public, the company announced an expansion of its partnership with Iveco.
PlusAI and Iveco are set to develop two IVECO S-Way heavy-duty trucks integrated with SuperDrive, they said. The autonomous trucks will undergo multiyear testing in Spain beginning later this year.
For the entire trial, the trucks will operate with a safety operator between Madrid and Zaragoza along a freight route about 184 miles long.
Partners in the program also include Spanish logistics group Sesé and the government of the independent region of Aragon. The region comprises the provinces of Huesca, Zaragoza and Teruel.
“Vehicle automation is a key pillar of Iveco Group’s technology strategy,” said the company’s Chief Technology & Digital Officer Marco Liccardo. “We are thrilled to reinforce our strong partnership with PlusAI to further innovate our ADAS and ADS technologies on board IVECO trucks. This project will take us forward on our journey to offer customers the highest quality technology for increasingly sustainable transport.”
A few days earlier, PlusAI provided an update on SuperDrive’s progress on the path toward commercial launch.
In the second half of 2025, PlusAI’s Safety Case Readiness reached 90.1%, Autonomous Miles Percentage reached 99.2%, and Remote Assistance Free Trips increased to 79%, up from 86.1%, 98.6% and 76.2%, respectively, in the first half of 2025.
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(PlusAI)
SCR tracks the maturity and completeness of the Safety Case Framework that underpins the safe operation of SuperDrive. RAFT measures the share of autonomous trips completed end-to-end without intervention from a remote operator or onboard safety driver on a defined commercial route. AMP is a route-specific measure that quantifies the extent and reliability of SuperDrive in real-world operations and complements the RAFT metric.
PlusAI also said Jan. 7 that David Peterschmidt and Harry Harczak would join its board.
Peterschmidt previously served as chairman and CEO of Inktomi, an Internet infrastructure software specialist acquired by Yahoo, and also served as chief operating officer of database software developer Sybase when it went public in 1991.
PlusAI is currently conducting a commercial pilot with International LT Series trucks and an unnamed carrier in Texas, as well as public road testing in Sweden.
The tests are taking place on the Interstate 35 corridor between Laredo and Dallas, Texas, and are being managed from International’s autonomous hub in San Antonio.
