PlusAI to go public via SPAC at $800M valuation in third listing attempt

PlusAI, the Santa Clara, California-based developer of autonomous trucking software, agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check company Texas Ventures Acquisition III Corp., valuing the company at about $800 million in pre-money equity value, the companies said Thursday.

The deal could provide PlusAI with about $300 million in capital, including roughly $236 million held in the SPAC's trust account and more than $60 million in committed financing, the companies said. About $236 million sits in the trust, though redemptions could cut into that, according to SiliconANGLE. The committed financing consists largely of five-year senior guaranteed convertible notes with $63.9 million in principal and $57.5 million in net proceeds, carrying warrants exercisable at $12, alongside roughly $4 million in equity and warrant subscriptions from accredited investors, SiliconANGLE reported. Funds managed by Yorkville Advisors Global LP, which backs Texas Ventures III, are among the investors.

PlusAI said the committed financing satisfies the minimum cash condition to close and funds the business through 2027. Both boards approved the agreement unanimously, and closing is expected this year subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, after which existing PlusAI stockholders and the Texas Ventures III sponsor will be subject to lock-ups. The combined company will operate as PlusAI.

The merger is PlusAI's third attempt at a public listing in five years. A May 2021 agreement to combine with Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V valued the company at about $3.3 billion but was dissolved in November 2021. In June 2025, PlusAI announced a $1.2 billion combination with Churchill Capital Corp IX, which was terminated April 20 with market conditions cited as the reason. Transport Topics reported that the Churchill deal was with an affiliate of the same investment group that took automaker Lucid Motors public, and that after the deal collapsed, PlusAI went back to its existing investors for additional funds.

The company develops SuperDrive, a Level 4 autonomous driving system for commercial trucks — a classification meaning the system handles all driving within a defined operating area with no human expected to take over, according to SiliconANGLE. Trucks running the software are hauling freight on routes in Texas with Ryder System Inc. and truck manufacturer International Motors LLC. Transport Topics reported that PlusAI aims to launch driverless freight operations without a safety driver in the cab in 2027.

PlusAI has integration agreements with TRATON SE, Hyundai Motor Co. and Iveco Group N.V., and factory-built trucks with SuperDrive installed are targeted for commercial launch in 2027. TRATON committed up to $25 million in dedicated research funding in January, much of it aimed at accelerating factory integration of SuperDrive into TRATON vehicles, according to Transport Topics. SuperDrive's capabilities were expanded in March with night driving and construction-zone navigation added in the latest iteration, and International unveiled initial fleet trials of second-generation autonomous LT Series tractors on March 31, identifying Ryder System as the first publicly announced participant, Transport Topics reported.

Revenue to date comes from HyperFoundry, a development platform PlusAI built to create and validate its own autonomous systems, which other companies working on autonomous and robotic products can now license. The platform draws on a decade of accumulated driving data, models and simulation capability. That business booked $25 million this year, and contracted revenue across the company is targeted at $40 million to $50 million for 2026.

PlusAI plans to sell access to SuperDrive on a subscription it calls Driver-as-a-Service. At scale, the company estimates the business could produce more than $1 billion in annual recurring revenue, against a trucking industry it sizes at $1.7 trillion, according to SiliconANGLE.

"This transaction validates a year of significant execution and operational milestones for PlusAI," Chief Executive David Liu said. "We are operating autonomous freight routes in Texas today, expanding our OEM partnerships, and successfully monetizing the proprietary data, models and simulation capabilities we have built over the past decade."

Troy Rillo, chief executive of Texas Ventures III, said conviction in the deal is "reflected in the capital we are committing alongside the transaction," as reported by SiliconANGLE.

The deal follows the Nasdaq debut of Swedish electric and autonomous trucking firm Einride in June through a SPAC merger that valued it at about $1.35 billion. It comes as self-driving truck companies move from years of road testing to commercial services, with fleet operators exploring the technology to lower logistics costs and ease driver shortages.

Autonomous truck developers are poised for a busy 2027, with Aurora Innovation and Torc Robotics set to ramp up operations to commercial scale and Tesla aiming to expand development of autonomous versions of its Semi Class 8 tractor later this year or early next year, Transport Topics reported.