Momentum Newsletter
April 2, 2026

Real progress in autonomous trucking happens on real roads – and this month we’re proud to mark another important milestone. With International, PlusAI has launched autonomous fleet trials along the I-35 corridor, running commercial freight operations daily between Laredo and Temple in Texas using a factory-integrated International truck driven by SuperDrive™.

As the largest inland port in the United States and a critical gateway for cross-border trade, Laredo sees an enormous volume of freight every day. Operating autonomous trucks in this corridor demonstrates how autonomous technology can integrate directly into existing logistics networks to keep global commerce moving. 

Momentum also continues to build across the industry, from advances in AI to new policy developments. Let’s dive in!

Latest from PlusAI

SuperDrive™ Powers Autonomous Trucking Fleet Trial with International
PlusAI has launched autonomous fleet trials with International, placing a factory-integrated autonomous truck powered by the SuperDrive™ virtual driver into real freight operations for Ryder. The truck runs a daily 600-mile route along the I-35 corridor between Ryder facilities in Laredo and Temple, Texas, providing critical operational data as the industry shifts from pilot programs to commercial deployment. Early results show 100% on-time delivery and 92% autonomous route coverage. It’s exciting to see how factory-integrated autonomous trucks can operate within existing fleet logistics as we move toward scalable commercial deployment. [PlusAI Blog]

PlusAI Brings NVIDIA Alpamayo Foundation Model to Autonomous Trucks
At this year’s NVIDIA GTC, we announced the integration of NVIDIA’s Alpamayo foundation model into SuperDrive™, making us one of the first to bring advanced AI reasoning capabilities to autonomous trucking. The collaboration works to combine PlusAI’s virtual driver with NVIDIA’s AI platform and International’s factory-built truck to enable production-ready Level 4 autonomous trucks. By leveraging Alpamayo’s ability to reason through complex driving situations, the system is designed to better handle edge scenarios on the road while advancing the path toward scalable, driverless freight operations. [Press Release]

PlusAI Launches SuperDrive™ 6.0 to Accelerate Scaled Commercialization of Driverless Autonomous Trucking Operations
Built on over 7 million miles of real-world driving across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, SuperDrive 6.0 is a major advancement toward our targeted 2027 fully driverless, factory-integrated commercial deployment. This production-oriented evolution is currently in use for pilot commercial freight operations and is engineered to support rapid feature deployment and validation in high-volume manufacturing by our global OEM partners. SuperDrive 6.0 delivers 10x improvement in training speed and 3x reduction in labeling costs, further lowering the costs for global deployment. [Press Release]

Podcast: PlusAI’s Software-First Approach to Autonomous Trucking
In a recent episode of The Fleet Lead podcast, PlusAI COO and Co-Founder Shawn Kerrigan joined host Jeremy Wolfe to discuss our software-first approach to autonomous trucking. Kerrigan explains why PlusAI focuses on developing a scalable virtual driver and partners with global OEMs to deliver factory-built autonomous trucks, rather than operating our own fleet. The conversation also explores PlusAI’s global data strategy, our real-world deployments, and the roadmap toward the targeted commercial launch in 2027 [FleetOwner]

Self-Play Reinforcement Learning: How We Train Autonomous Trucks for Unexpected Moments
Our latest blog post by our Chief Architect and Co-Founder Tim Daly and Research Engineer Jinkai Qiu explains how self-play reinforcement learning helps train our virtual driver, SuperDrive™, to handle rare and unpredictable driving situations. In this approach, AI agents interact in simulation to generate challenging scenarios and continuously improve decision-making. By combining millions of simulated interactions with real-world driving data, SuperDrive™ can practice edge cases far more often than human drivers experience, helping it anticipate risk and respond more safely on the road. [PlusAI Blog]

Industry Insights

Driverless Big Rigs Are Coming to American Highways 
A recent New York Times article highlights how autonomous trucking is moving from testing to early commercial deployment across key freight corridors in the United States. States like Texas have become focal points for the industry given long highway routes and supportive regulatory environments, creating ideal conditions for large-scale autonomous freight operations. The article mentions companies, including PlusAI, as part of a growing group working with truck manufacturers and logistics partners to bring driverless technology to market. [NYTimes] 

Duffy Highlights Safety Potential for Autonomous Vehicles 
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently emphasized the safety and innovation potential of autonomous vehicles, underscoring the federal government’s interest in supporting the technology’s development. Secretary Duffy noted the importance of ensuring the U.S. remains a global leader in transportation innovation while maintaining strong safety oversight. His remarks signal continued federal engagement in shaping policies that enable the safe deployment of autonomous vehicle technologies across the country. [TransportTopics]

Driverless Trucks’ Next Challenge: Manufacturing at Scale 
New research from Telemetry highlights that the next major hurdle for autonomous trucking is not software, it’s manufacturing at scale. As autonomous driving systems continue to mature, the industry’s focus is shifting toward integrating autonomy directly into factory-built trucks and developing the manufacturing partnerships needed for large-scale deployment. The takeaway: the future of autonomous freight will depend not only on advanced AI, but on the ability to produce autonomous trucks reliably and at commercial volumes. PlusAI is well positioned for this shift through deep partnerships with global OEMs like TRATON, IVECO, and Hyundai, enabling a clear path to scalable commercial deployment. [Freightwaves]

Did You Know

Did you know autonomous trucks don’t just “see” the road – they reason too!
Our latest blog post, “The Reasoning Machine,” explores how modern AI systems go beyond perception to actually interpret and reason through complex driving situations. By combining advanced AI models with massive real-world driving data, SuperDrive can analyze dynamic scenarios, anticipate what other vehicles might do next, and make safe driving decisions in real time. It’s a powerful step toward deploying autonomous trucks that don’t just react to the road, but truly understand it. Read the full blog post for more.