FERNRIDE

The logistics and industrial transport sectors have long battled labor shortages, safety issues and spiraling costs of operation. Automation can improve the situation for logistics and transportation businesses; however, many owners/operators are facing issues including regulations and wonder how to incorporate driverless technology in their workplace. FERNRIDE, founded in 2019 by Hendrik Kramer, Jean-Michael Georg, and Maximilian Fisser, is at the forefront of developing technology that bolsters human-assisted autonomous driving solutions. Their technology merges remote operator oversight on top of AI autonomy to provide flexible solutions to outside user environments. By retrofitting existing yard trucks with autonomy deployment kits, the firm autonomously drives existing yard trucks to conduct repetitive tasks while delegating the remaining driving tasks to a human when necessitated by menu-driven or uncommon tasks or decision making.

Operating their technology in controlled environments - logistics yards, ports and terminals - FERNRIDE has launched pilot programs with industry leaders Volkswagen, DB Schenker, HHLA, and JOST throughout Germany, Estonia and the Netherlands. The industrial-grade autonomy platform, with built-for-industry safety redundancies, recently commenced fully driverless live trials in January 2025 as part of CE certification for compliance with the EU Machinery Directive.

FERNRIDE's rapid growth has culminated in more than 130 employees in the offices in Munich and Wolfsburg, 86 of which are in the area of development and deployment. Similarly, the company is able to expand from supply chain operations with DB Schenker and throughput operations with HHLA Next by way of locations in Tallinn, Estonia, and Tilburg, Netherlands, and has now set its sights on North America. In total, SERNRIDE has raised about €60–61 million (USD 60–60.9 million) through six rounds of funding with the most notable investment coming in September 2023 with a USD 50 million Series A, made up of an initial USD 31 million and subsequently followed with an additional USD 19 million, all from mixed venture funds Munich Re Ventures, DeepTech & Climate Fonds, Bayern Kapital, Speedinvest, 10x Founders, Promus Ventures, Fly Ventures, and Push Ventures and strategic investors HHLA Next and DB Schenker through their Schenker Ventures, Krone, and Klaus Kleinfeld.

FERNRIDE's annual sales turnover is estimated to be USD 28.4 million - i.e. an employee sales turnover of approximately USD 330,000. The company operates as a Transportation-as-a-Service, or transport-as-a-service provider; offering subscriptions that bundle a range of products bundled together into a single offering, including: retrofit autonomy kits, teleoperation, software updates, and technical support. The price model is designed to produce a net cost savings - lower total cost-per-truck-hour for clients - considering labor savings and operational efficiencies - thus attractive and scalable. Recurring revenue allows FERNRIDE to anticipate predictable revenue and offer a lower barrier to automating logistics firms - executing a project without large upfront adoption costs. The enterprise value for the firm is approximately USD 160 million (~€145 million), representing both its maturity of technology and customer adoption.

The company has not disclosed any profitability, nor any EBITDA figures, and is not as yet profitable, which is typical for deep-tech initiatives where a start-up is making investments in product delivery and market access. The revenue growth and expanding deployments indicate a pathway toward long-term financial sustainability.

FERNRIDE is in a rare class of competitive players. It is vital to note that the firm is not like full-autonomy startups such as Einride, Outrider, and Oxbotica, which generally focus on open-road scenarios or on entirely new fleets of electric vehicles. All the other players, such as Gatik and Kodiak Robotics, are looking at teleoperation or freight autonomy, but what makes them unique is its hybrid approach of autonomy and human-in-the-loop remote operation. This brings real solutions, as complexity increases, without crossing a multitude of regulatory hurdles that other companies cannot do. FERNRIDE separates itself from companies that are in the early stages of their development timeline or businesses that are waiting on extensive regulatory approval and legislation to determine their next steps.

The firm is excited about the future, with plans to push even deeper into North America and Asia, and further their quest for a partnership with warehouse automation and fleet management systems. The company's leadership has also expressed interest in defense logistics as a potential avenue for expansion, which they believe could leverage its remote operation capabilities because confined environments can be highly effective with remote-led logistics assistance. CEO Hendrik Kramer emphasizes its mission: "FERNRIDE is solving the most challenging logistics problems through a human-machine symbiosis that is fit for the real world." Though profitability is not yet an immediate goal, FERNRIDE remains in an enviable position with ample backing, steadily growing recurring revenue, active deployments, and a proven model that supports the emerging world of autonomous logistics.

Click here to access FERNRIDE's website.