Moving at the Speed of Safety: Flawless Progress Report on Gatik’s Independent Safety Assessment

Late last year, we announced the scope of our end-to-end Safety Assessment Framework: underscoring Gatik’s commitment to launching Freight-Only (driverless) operations at scale only after meeting the most rigorous, independent assessment ever conducted on an autonomous driving system. This proactive approach not only ensures the highest levels of safety as we expand our networks with new and existing customers, but puts into practice an elevated benchmark for the entire industry to follow, far exceeding any legal or regulatory requirements in place today.

To support this industry-first initiative, we’ve partnered with two globally respected safety leaders: Edge Case Research and TÜV SÜD. Edge Case Research has mobilized dedicated resources and personnel to implement their DevSafeOps® process to support system development, testing, and safety engineering. Our framework considers every dimension of autonomy, from organizational culture, to technological development and operational execution. At the core is adherence to the requirements of UL4600, one of the key safety standards for SAE Level 4 and 5 autonomous systems. But we didn’t stop there – we expanded far beyond the scope of UL4600, developing more than 700 safety portfolios that comprehensively address every aspect of our technology stack, operational protocols, and risk management strategies.

To independently assess the depth and rigor of our Safety Assessment Framework, we engaged TÜV SÜD – a globally recognized independent testing and certification authority with extensive experience in autonomous system safety assurance. With the completion of over 670,000 certifications across numerous industries worldwide, they are uniquely positioned to provide an unequaled level of oversight and authority in third-party safety program assessment. Their assessment will focus on six key pillars: safe testing, organizational safety culture, system and safety engineering quality (functional, behavioral, and operational), cybersecurity, vehicle safety, and compliance with the UL4600 standard. This thorough evaluation will encompass our entire autonomy ecosystem – ensuring that our operations are not only safe by design, but demonstrably safe in practice.

A Flawless Progress Report

Today we announced that two critical pillars of our Safety Assessment Framework have been successfully reviewed by TÜV SÜD. Gatik’s methodological approach to both the Safety Case and Functional Safety phases were independently assessed by TÜV SÜD, marking a major milestone on our path to safely launching Freight-Only commercial operations at scale this year.

Successfully closing these phases confirms that Gatik’s methodological approach to Safety Case and Functional Safety is consistent with the stringent requirements of TÜV SÜD’s Autonomous Vehicle Conformity Framework (AVCF). TÜV SÜD’s AVCF is a globally recognized process for evaluating autonomous vehicle safety across development, testing and deployment domains. TÜV SÜD’s AVCF involves an end-to-end review of our Functional Safety portfolios, including the following key elements: Operational Design Domain (ODD), Item Definition, Testing, Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (HARA), Coverage/Safety Analysis and Organizational Safety Culture. Critically, these items and all others related to safety, trace to a comprehensive Safety Case allowing for appropriate oversight of the entire system. TÜV SÜD’s review, which is a preliminary assessment of Gatik’s approach to Safety Case development and Functional Safety, serves as a progress checkpoint, confirming that Gatik’s approach is aligned with TÜV SÜD’s internal requirements under the Autonomous Vehicle Conformity Framework to support the successful development of Freight-Only (driverless) trucks at scale, while establishing a pathway for future compliance with relevant standards.

At Gatik, we’re dedicated to ensuring that all key stakeholders, including the motoring public, our customers, federal, state and local government partners and the first responder community have confidence in the safety of our technology and operations. By continuing to pursue and share independently reviewed results of our Safety Assessment Framework, we’re benchmarking a new level of accountability that will help to ensure that we achieve this goal. This independent review of our approach to Safety Case and Functional Safety represents a radical departure from the self-certified safety audits that have become the industry norm. By engaging TÜV SÜD to provide this assessment from an external vantage point, Gatik is setting a new benchmark for the industry – one that puts safety and transparency at the forefront of the autonomous vehicle revolution.

Moving at the Speed of Safety

The status quo for road safety in the US is tragic and unacceptable. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that nearly 43,000 traffic deaths occurred in 2022, which amounts to approximately 120 fatalities per day. At scale, autonomous vehicles (AVs) will dramatically reduce these alarming figures. But while improving road safety has been the driving force behind AV development for decades, defining and validating the path to enhancing safety has been less clear. The question of “how safe is safe enough?” has been ever-present, and until now, met only with claims derived from self-certification – a practice that has become the norm, but falls short of earning public trust or providing meaningful accountability. At Gatik, we believe there’s a better way forward: one grounded in transparency, independence, and verifiable performance.

As the first company in the world to operate driverless commercial deliveries in both the United States and Canada – with an exemplary safety record – we understand that safety isn’t just a priority. It’s our foundation. At Gatik, safety is our guiding philosophy, embedded into every decision we make and every mile we drive. As we prepare to launch Freight-Only (driverless) deliveries at scale across multiple markets, continuing to raise the bar across our entire safety ecosystem is essential to earning and keeping the trust of the public, our partners, and regulators.

Validating our Safety Assessment Framework is an exhaustive, rigorous process, but it’s a process that cannot be rushed: safety is not a race. With the deployment of Freight-Only operations this year, 2025 will go down in history for truly ushering in the era of autonomous trucking. Our commitment to the highest standards of safety are unwavering, and with the approach we’ve taken to developing, implementing and independently validating our Safety Assessment Framework, we truly believe that we’re standing on the cusp of a safety revolution.