Hendrik Kramer wants his startup, Fernride, to be the first European company to deploy 1,000 trucks fitted with autonomous systems to operate in container yards. But the 29-year-old cofounder and CEO is also thinking about another use case for his company: on the battlefield.
Kramer tells Sifted that he’s recently been considering how Fernride’s technology — which updates fleets with sensors, cameras and software to drive autonomously, assisted remotely by humans — could apply to trucks delivering goods to armies in combat.
“It’s in the very early stages, but we [are looking] into this use case,” Kramer says. “It’s the perfect dual-use use case.”
He says he’s been pitched by European armed forces about using the tech in the military, and adds that it’s something Fernride is planning to explore more in the coming year.
Kramer isn’t the only founder pondering how his company’s tech could be used by the military or government: startups and investors are eyeing how they can be involved in supporting national interests (and making money from it), particularly as defence has become less of a contentious topic in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Scaling up
Fernride, founded in 2019 as a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich, raised a $50m Series A round last year to develop its autonomous trucking systems (supervised by humans) for fleet operators’ container yards and ports.
There’s a massive shortage of truck drivers in Germany and Europe, a problem Fernride thinks automation can solve. Speaking to Sifted at the startup’s 8,000-square-metre testing facility in Munich — which, on a Saturday, was quiet apart from the humming of large circuit boards modelling the hardware and software the company fits into trucks — Kramer says that Fernride currently employs 10 truck drivers. At the moment, one driver can remotely observe and operate four autonomous trucks, but by continuing to develop its AI, the company hopes to increase the number of trucks one person can oversee.
Fernride also aims to perform driverless tests by the end of the year.
Eventually, the company plans to have trucks driving on the open road, but it’s currently focusing on the yard.
Fernride, which has yet to officially commercially launch, will use a SaaS model for its customers: part of its revenue will come from retrofitting customers’ trucks with cameras and autonomous software setups (the customers buy or rent the hardware upfront); and part could come from a software subscription — where Fernride can push updates to the companies’ trucks. It hopes to launch in six to twelve months, once it has the certifications it needs and testing is complete.
So far the startup has pilot project contracts with clients including Volkswagen, DB Schenker and German transport logistics company HHLA. Its backers include 10x Founders, Bayern Kapital, Speedinvest and Germany’s DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF) fund.
When asked whether Fernride is looking for more capital, Kramer says: “As a deeptech founder in Europe, you’re always fundraising.”
The “perfect dual-use use case”
If the potential for Fernride’s technology to be used in defence is in Kramer’s pitch, he might catch some investors’ attention in particular. Defence tech has been a hot topic with investors lately — and more founders and VCs are exploring dual-use technologies, which have both commercial and military applications.
Kramer says autonomous trucks could help prevent deaths due to logistics, “where you’re just transporting cargo from A to B”. For example, if a truck is driving over a mine or in dangerous situations where soldiers are needed to protect it.
Autonomous driving and trucking applications in defence is not a new thing; the US and the likes of the Australian and UK governments have been and are experimenting with it. On the autonomous trucking front, some of Fernride’s US-based competitors include Aurora, says Kramer, although he notes they’re not in “direct competition today”.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/fernride-autonomous-truck-startup-defence/
