Aurora’s self-driving vans can now journey continuous on a 1,000 mile route between Fort Price and Phoenix — exceeding what a human driver can legally accomplish.
The space, and the time it takes to journey it, provides up optimistic monetary implications for Aurora — and every other firm hoping to industrial self-driving semi vans.
It takes Aurora about 15 hours to hold freight in its driverless vans on the 1,000-mile journey, in accordance with the corporate. Human truck drivers take for much longer to finish the identical distance resulting from federal laws that restrict how lengthy they are often behind the wheel. For example, truck drivers should cease for a 30-minute break after eight hours and might function a semi truck for a most of 11 hours at a time, in accordance with federal laws. As soon as drivers hit that threshold they can’t get behind the wheel for an additional 10 hours.
“This represents greater than a technological achievement,” Aurora co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson stated through the firm’s earnings name Wednesday afternoon. “It’s the daybreak of a superhuman future for freight.”
It additionally provides compelling economics to its prospects, which incorporates Uber Freight, Werner, FedEx, and Schneider. The corporate stated that ultimately it may possibly reduce transit occasions practically in half, a stat that has gained over firms like Hirschbach, an early buyer on the Fort Price-to-Phoenix route.
Aurora stated in a letter to shareholders it’s poised to increase throughout the Solar Belt of the US. Right this moment, the corporate operates driverless vans — some with a human observer nonetheless within the cab — on routes between Dallas and Houston, Fort Price and El Paso, El Paso and Phoenix, Fort Price and Phoenix, and Laredo and Dallas.
The enlargement has helped Aurora transition from a developer of autonomous vans to a industrial operator that’s incomes cash on its driverless routes.
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June 23, 2026
Aurora has introduced in income since April 2025 when it first deployed driverless, heavy-duty vans for industrial use on public roads. Aurora reported $1 million within the fourth quarter and $3 million for the yr, according to a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee. The corporate’s CFO, David Maday, stated whole yr adjusted income, which incorporates cash earned by pilot packages early final yr, was $4 million.
That’s a tiny determine, particularly when in comparison with its bills. Aurora reported a internet earnings lack of $816 million in 2025, up 9% from the yr earlier than because it focuses on scaling its operations. Nonetheless, it exhibits measurable progress from 2024, when it didn’t acknowledge any income.
Income is projected to proceed as the corporate provides extra vans and driverless routes to its community. Right this moment, the corporate has 30 vans within the fleet, of which 10 are working driverlessly. That fleet is anticipated to develop to greater than 200 vans by the top of the yr. Urmson stated the corporate’s vans have racked up 250,000 driverless miles as of Jan 2026 with an ideal security document.
Within the second quarter, Aurora plans to deploy a fleet of driverless Worldwide Motors LT vans, which won’t have a human observer on board. Aurora’s driverless operations that use Paccar vans at the moment have a human security observer within the cab as requested by the truck producer.
Urmson took a bullish view of Aurora’s future, buoyed by developments in its self-driving software program, an impending second-generation {hardware} package that can decrease prices, and enlargement of its driverless routes. The enlargement of its driverless trucking routes has been propelled by a brand new software program launch, its fourth since launching industrial service in April 2025.
The primary launch validated preliminary driverless operations between Dallas and Houston, the second validated operations at night time, and the third validated El Paso, in accordance with Aurora. The corporate stated this newest software program launch will give its self-driving system the capabilities to navigate the varied geography and local weather of the southern United States.
“Simply because the final two years introduced robotaxis into the mainstream, we count on 2026 to mark the inflection level the place the market acknowledges that self-driving vans have arrived and are rapidly changing into a everlasting fixture in our transportation panorama,” Urmson stated on the corporate’s earnings name. “In case you’re within the Solar Belt in 2026 you gained’t simply learn concerning the Aurora driver. You’ll see it day-after-day.”
Aurora at the moment operates driverless routes by Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, and has future driverless operations deliberate for Nevada, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, the corporate stated.
