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Starsky Robotics

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uuid00035fn

Namestring
Starsky Robotics
Legal namestring
Starsky Robotics
Websiteurl
starsky.io
Company typeenum
Private
Founded yearint
2016
Descriptiontext

Starsky Robotics was a San Francisco-based autonomous trucking company founded in 2016 that developed self-driving technology for long-haul freight transport. The company's stated mission was to deploy autonomous trucks for freight and logistics companies while addressing driver shortages and reducing the cost and risk of long-haul operations. The core offering was an autonomous trucking system — a hardware-plus-software stack that combined perception, planning, and vehicle-control software with truck-based sensor integration — though the source data does not specify distinct product modules, platform architecture, or named model families.

The company pursued a vertical go-to-market targeting freight and logistics operators, positioning autonomous long-haul trucking as a solution to driver shortage and operational cost pressures. No pricing model, named customers, revenue figures, or contract structures are disclosed in the available sources, indicating that commercialization had not advanced to material scale by the time operations ended. Starsky Robotics was backed by Y Combinator and raised approximately $20.25 million across seed and Series A rounds between 2016 and 2018, with Shasta Ventures leading the Series A.

The company is no longer operating. Its primary domain, starsky.io, is listed for sale on Spaceship.com at $83,997, and the founder has moved on to host a podcast for Polymath Robotics, another autonomous mobility venture. These signals — combined with the absence of any post-2018 funding, product launches, or partnership activity — indicate a full wind-down rather than a sale, pivot, or restructuring into a successor entity.

Short descriptiontext

Starsky Robotics was a San Francisco-based autonomous trucking company founded in 2016 that developed self-driving technology for long-haul freight transportation, targeting freight and logistics operators. The company has ceased operations, with its domain listed for sale and its founder having moved to Polymath Robotics.

Operating statusenum
Closed
Ownership categoryenum
Headcount rangeband
11–50
akta.pro rankint
HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
HQ citystring
San Francisco
HQ countrystring
United States
HQ regionstring
North America
Markets served

Serves global market

Keyword5 values
autonomous trucking, freight transportation, self-driving trucks, long-haul logistics, autonomous freight technology
Industry2 codes
1Hotshot / Sprinter Van / Straight Truck Expediting
CodeTLADANAEPrimaryYes
2Autonomous Ride-Hailing / Robotaxi Platforms
CodeTHADADALPrimaryNo
NAICS code2 codes
  • Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance48423
  • Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance484230
SIC code1 code
  • Trucking (No Local)4213
Product category
Autonomous Trucking
Cost components3 values
Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations
GTM typeB2B
B2B
Offering typeSoftware
Software
Core offering1 text field

Starsky Robotics developed autonomous trucking technology for self-driving freight trucks, targeting long-haul freight transportation. The company aimed to make roads safer while also providing employment for truck drivers through its autonomous driving platform.

Differentiator
Functional benefit
Problem solved
Product overview1 text field

Starsky Robotics is an autonomous trucking company that developed technology for self-driving freight trucks. Based on the available source material, no specific named product modules, platform architecture, or distinct product offerings were identified. The company's primary focus appears to be autonomous trucking technology, though the starsky.io domain is currently listed for sale, suggesting the company may no longer be operating.

Product and service1 record
1Autonomous Trucking Technology
CategoryAutonomous Trucking
Description

Self-driving freight truck technology designed for long-haul autonomous freight transportation, intended for freight and logistics companies. The technology aimed to improve road safety and reduce driver shortage impacts in commercial trucking.

Recent move4 records

Each record includes

Date, Type, Title, Description, Source

Expansion highlight1 record

Each record includes

Type, Description

Market position
Competitive moat3 records

Each record includes

Type, Details

Key risks6 records

Each record includes

Headline, Details, Source

Key highlights5 records

Each record includes

Headline, Details, Source

Customer concentration

Classification, Details

Segment1 record

Each record includes

Title, Type, Primary, Description, Pain point addressed, Use case, Source

Ideal customer profile1 record

Each record includes

Profile, Firmographic size, Sales motion, Sales cycle length, Buying structure, Purchase trigger, Buyer persona, Geography, Industry vertical, Primary use case, Description, Pain points, Evidence proof points, Target buyer

Technology focused
Yes
API detail
Has APIbool
No

Docs URL, Description

AI maturity
App detail

Has app

Core technology
Revenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Number of profiles
No data
No data
Funding overview

Funding stage, Last funding date, Total funding USD

Funding rounds5 records

Each record includes

Round, Amount USD, Date, Pre money valuation, Total investors, Investors, News

Investors15 records

Each record includes

Name, Type, Date of entry, Rounds participated, Website

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Each record includes

Name, Acquisition type, Announced date, Completed date, Status, Website, News

Investment

Each record includes

Name, Round, Announced date, Lead investor, Website, News

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Starsky Robotics

Autonomous Truckingstarsky.io

Starsky Robotics was a San Francisco-based autonomous trucking company founded in 2016 that developed self-driving technology for long-haul freight transportation, targeting freight and logistics operators. The company has ceased operations, with its domain listed for sale and its founder having moved to Polymath Robotics.

What Starsky Robotics does

Starsky Robotics was a San Francisco-based autonomous trucking company founded in 2016 that developed self-driving technology for long-haul freight transport. The company's stated mission was to deploy autonomous trucks for freight and logistics companies while addressing driver shortages and reducing the cost and risk of long-haul operations. The core offering was an autonomous trucking system — a hardware-plus-software stack that combined perception, planning, and vehicle-control software with truck-based sensor integration — though the source data does not specify distinct product modules, platform architecture, or named model families.

The company pursued a vertical go-to-market targeting freight and logistics operators, positioning autonomous long-haul trucking as a solution to driver shortage and operational cost pressures. No pricing model, named customers, revenue figures, or contract structures are disclosed in the available sources, indicating that commercialization had not advanced to material scale by the time operations ended. Starsky Robotics was backed by Y Combinator and raised approximately $20.25 million across seed and Series A rounds between 2016 and 2018, with Shasta Ventures leading the Series A.

The company is no longer operating. Its primary domain, starsky.io, is listed for sale on Spaceship.com at $83,997, and the founder has moved on to host a podcast for Polymath Robotics, another autonomous mobility venture. These signals — combined with the absence of any post-2018 funding, product launches, or partnership activity — indicate a full wind-down rather than a sale, pivot, or restructuring into a successor entity.

Starsky Robotics firmographics

Firmographics
Name
Starsky Robotics
Legal name
Starsky Robotics
Website
https://starsky.io
Company type
Private
Founded year
2016
Operating status
Closed
Headcount range
11–50 employees
Short description
Starsky Robotics was a San Francisco-based autonomous trucking company founded in 2016 that developed self-driving technology for long-haul freight transportation, targeting freight and logistics operators. The company has ceased operations, with its domain listed for sale and its founder having moved to Polymath Robotics.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Starsky Robotics industry classification

Industry
Product category
Autonomous Trucking
NAICS
Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance (48423), Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance (484230)
SIC
Trucking (No Local) (4213)
akta.pro primary industry
Hotshot / Sprinter Van / Straight Truck Expediting (TLADANAE)
akta.pro secondary industry
Autonomous Ride-Hailing / Robotaxi Platforms (THADADAL)

Keywords

  • Autonomous trucking
  • Freight transportation
  • Self-driving trucks
  • Long-haul logistics
  • Autonomous freight technology

Where Starsky Robotics is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city
San Francisco
HQ country
United States
HQ region
North America

Markets served

Starsky Robotics business model

Business model
GTM type
B2B
Offering type
Software
Cost components
Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations

Starsky Robotics product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Starsky Robotics developed autonomous trucking technology for self-driving freight trucks, targeting long-haul freight transportation. The company aimed to make roads safer while also providing employment for truck drivers through its autonomous driving platform.

Product overview

Starsky Robotics is an autonomous trucking company that developed technology for self-driving freight trucks. Based on the available source material, no specific named product modules, platform architecture, or distinct product offerings were identified. The company's primary focus appears to be autonomous trucking technology, though the starsky.io domain is currently listed for sale, suggesting the company may no longer be operating.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

  • Autonomous Trucking Technology Self-driving freight truck technology designed for long-haul autonomous freight transportation, intended for freight and logistics companies. The technology aimed to improve road safety and reduce driver shortage impacts in commercial trucking.

Companies that use Starsky Robotics

Customer profile

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Starsky Robotics technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API
No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Starsky Robotics partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Starsky Robotics competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Market position

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Starsky Robotics social profiles

Digital presence

Starsky Robotics financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Starsky Robotics leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Starsky Robotics funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors15 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Starsky Robotics M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Starsky Robotics

What does Starsky Robotics do?

Starsky Robotics developed autonomous trucking technology for self-driving freight trucks, targeting long-haul freight transportation. The company aimed to make roads safer while also providing employment for truck drivers through its autonomous driving platform.

Is Starsky Robotics a public or private company?

Starsky Robotics is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently closed.

When was Starsky Robotics founded?

Starsky Robotics was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is Starsky Robotics based?

Starsky Robotics is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.

Does Starsky Robotics have an API?

No public API is recorded for Starsky Robotics.

What industry is Starsky Robotics in?

Starsky Robotics's product category is Autonomous Trucking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLADANAE, Hotshot / Sprinter Van / Straight Truck Expediting, with a secondary code of THADADAL, Autonomous Ride-Hailing / Robotaxi Platforms. Its NAICS code is 48423 and its SIC code is 4213.

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Live signals
NaiopSix Innovative Concepts for Moving FreightThe article outlines six emerging innovations in freight transportation, including truck platooning by Peloton and Navistar, autonomous trucks developed by Uber ATG and Starsky Robotics, and potential hyperloop systems. It also details concepts for floating warehouses patented by Walmart and Amazon, autonomous cargo ships by Yara International and Kongsberg Gruppen, and large-scale cargo drones by Natilus. These developments aim to reduce costs, improve safety, and increase efficiency in global logistics through private-sector innovation.SlashGearDriverless Truck Startup Starsky Robotics Folds: CEO Shares Tough Autonomy Home TruthsDriverless truck startup Starsky Robotics is shutting down after failing to secure additional funding at the end of 2019. CEO Stefan Seltz-Axmacher attributes the failure to investor pressure for rapid results, the underestimated difficulty of achieving safe autonomous driving via supervised machine learning, and a lack of excitement around safety engineering. The company is now selling its patents while predicting that true autonomy remains at least ten years away.Transport TopicsLoadsmart, Starsky Robotics Dispatch Autonomous Truck AutomaticallyLoadsmart and Starsky Robotics successfully completed the first fully automated dispatch of an autonomous truck, pricing, tendering, booking, and delivering a shipment in Texas in late July without any human intervention. The integration combined Loadsmart's AI and load-matching technology with Starsky Robotics' self-driving technology, marking a milestone in autonomous freight operations. The companies announced this as part of a broader partnership to establish autonomous brokerages that can dispatch freight to self-driving trucks.PR NewswireLoadsmart completes first-ever automated dispatch and delivery with Starsky Robotics' autonomous truckLoadsmart and Starsky Robotics successfully executed the first fully automated freight dispatch and delivery, integrating Loadsmart's AI pricing technology with Starsky's autonomous trucking API without human intervention. This strategic partnership addresses the industry's driver shortage by automating the traditional freight flow from quoting to delivery. The initiative marks a significant step toward autonomous brokerages dispatching loads to self-driving trucks.Business InsiderThe cofounder of a Y Combinator-backed trucking startup says there's one thing about self-driving trucking that everyone gets wrongStarsky Robotics, a Y Combinator-backed trucking startup, is running driverless trucks on public highways in Florida without a safety driver. CEO Stefan Seltz-Axmacher said the company has statistically proven it can operate without a safety driver, and he views regulators as partners, not impediments.Business InsiderA little-known trucking startup just beat Tesla and Waymo to run driverless semi-trucks on the open roadStarsky Robotics began operating driverless semi-trucks on the Florida turnpike as of June 16, with no driver in the cabin. The company aims to address the US truck driver shortage, which the American Trucking Associations says totals 50,000. It also cites potential $70 billion annual savings from fully driverless trucks.Heavy Duty TruckingStarsky Robotics Goes All-In On Driverless TrucksStarsky Robotics announced a $16.5 million Series A investment from Shasta Ventures and highlighted a recent 7-mile fully autonomous truck test run in Florida. The company aims to deploy Level 5 autonomous systems for commercial freight hauling, addressing industry labor shortages by removing human drivers from vehicles entirely.SiliconANGLEStarsky Robotics picks up $16.5M to put self-driving trucks on the road - SiliconANGLEStarsky Robotics raised $16.5 million in a funding round led by Shasta Ventures to advance its self-driving truck technology. The startup's AI-powered semi truck completed a seven-mile course without a human safety driver in February, marking the first successful field test of a truly driverless truck. The company plans to use the capital to expand its autonomous fleet and staff.Heavy Duty TruckingNew Autonomous Startups Have Different Takes on Self-Driving TechStartup companies Starsky Robotics and Drive.ai are the two latest entrants in the autonomous vehicle market, each offering different approaches to self-driving technology.