Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Waabi announced Monday that they are hauling freight for Warp, the first customer operation in their partnership. Volvo VNL Autonomous trucks running the Waabi Driver are moving Warp freight directly to third-party facilities on the Dallas-Houston corridor in Texas, with an observer in the driver's seat.
Warp runs less-than-truckload and full-truckload freight through a single network. Its customers include Walmart, DoorDash and Gopuff. Warp CEO Daniel Sokolovsky founded AxleHire before Warp emerged from stealth in 2022. Waabi COO Lior Ron told FreightWaves that autonomy can support continuous consolidation of LTL networks, where linehaul often runs on a slip-seat basis and federal rules cap each driver at 11 hours behind the wheel after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
Waabi trained its software on a Peterbilt 579 test fleet and moved it to the Volvo VNL Autonomous this summer without retraining. The Volvo truck carries redundancies for six safety-critical systems. Last month, Waabi's truck ran the Dallas-San Antonio lane for the first time with zero disengagements. Ron said Waabi maps a new lane with a single truck pass and has cut the time to open a lane from three months to three weeks.
Waabi plans to launch driverless operations next year with Volvo as the first OEM platform and is waiting for the factory-built truck instead of retrofitting existing ones. Forbes reported last month that Volvo expects to begin installing Waabi's system in the first quarter of 2027. Ron said demand for autonomy has grown as capacity leaves the market and fuel costs rise. Sokolovsky said Warp brings together shipments from multiple customers and aligns routes, capacity and timing, so gains on a single lane can reach the broader network.
Source: FreightWaves - https://www.freightwaves.com/news/waabi-volvo-warp-autonomous-ltl-customer-operations