Aurora Innovation 'A'

Aurora says it has 20 driverless trucks now and plans to grow to 200 by year-end, aiming to boost utilization and cut costs with a "driver as a service" model. Management expects autonomous rigs to operate more efficiently and cheaper per mile than human-driven trucks, citing estimates of ~$0.85 per mile versus ~$1.30 for human drivers. The company has logged over 440,000 test miles, suffered an $800 million loss in 2025, and is targeting positive free cash flow by 2028 as deployment expands. » More on cnbc.com

Aurora plans to ramp production to about 20 driverless trucks per week in Q4, supported by second-generation hardware that cuts costs by more than 50% and could enable roughly 1,500 tractors. The company is transitioning from a transportation-as-a-service model to a driver-as-a-service model, expecting most vehicles to operate under DaaS by end of 2027 and to limit its TaaS fleet to about 500 trucks. Aurora says it is fully allocated for 2026, holds roughly $1.2 billion in liquidity, is expanding OEM partnerships with Volvo, PACCAR and International, and is developing third-generation hardware aimed at automotive-scale production. » More on finance.yahoo.com

Aurora said at the Goldman Sachs conference that driverless operations without safety drivers began in July and that 20–25 driverless trucks were expected on the road by the end of the month, rising to around 200 by year-end. The company is pursuing staged hardware generations and partners such as Fabrinet, Roush and AUMOVIO to cut costs and substantially ramp production. Aurora plans to transition to a "Driver-as-a-Service" model from 2027 with expected pricing above $0.85 per mile and sees asset-light growth through partnerships. Financials: $1.2 billion in cash and equivalents; free cash flow remains negative for now, but management expects positive free cash flow on a run-rate basis in 2028. » More on de.investing.com