PlusAI Agrees to $800M SPAC Merger in Third Attempt at Public Listing

PlusAI has agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check company Texas Ventures Acquisition III Corp., the companies said Thursday, in a deal that values the autonomous trucking software developer at about $800 million pre-money equity value. The transaction marks the Santa Clara, California-based company’s third attempt at a public listing in five years.

The merger could provide PlusAI with $300 million in capital, including roughly $236 million held in the SPAC’s trust account and more than $60 million of committed financing, according to the companies. The committed financing includes 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 approximately $4 million in equity and warrant subscriptions from accredited investors. 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. The combined company will trade on the Nasdaq and operate as PlusAI.

The deal is the latest in a series of SPAC attempts for PlusAI. In May 2021, the company agreed to merge with Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V at a valuation of about $3.3 billion, but the two sides scrapped the deal six months later. A combination with Churchill Capital Corp IX, announced in June 2025 at a $1.2 billion valuation, was terminated in April 2026. Market conditions were cited as the reason for both earlier collapses.

“This transaction validates a year of significant execution and operational milestones for PlusAI,” said David Liu, co-founder and chief executive of PlusAI, in a statement. “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.”

Data, models and simulation built over the past decade are now being monetized through HyperFoundry, a development platform that generated $25 million in revenue this year, the company said. The platform is available for licensing by other firms working on autonomous and robotic products. PlusAI is targeting $40 million to $50 million in contracted revenue for 2026.

The company’s self-driving software, SuperDrive, is rated Level 4 — meaning the system handles all driving within a defined operating area with no human expected to take over. Trucks running SuperDrive are hauling freight on routes in Texas with Ryder System Inc. and International Motors LLC. PlusAI plans to sell access on a subscription model it calls Driver-as-a-Service.

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 to accelerate that work, according to information disclosed by the companies.

“Conviction in the deal is reflected in the capital we are committing alongside the transaction,” said Troy Rillo, chief executive of Texas Ventures III.

Both boards approved the agreement unanimously. Closing is expected this year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. Existing PlusAI stockholders and the Texas Ventures III sponsor will be subject to lock-up periods.

The deal 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. Swedish electric and autonomous trucking firm Einride debuted on the Nasdaq in June through a SPAC merger that valued it at about $1.35 billion. PlusAI is among a group of autonomous truck developers, including Aurora Innovation and Torc Robotics, that are poised to ramp up operations to commercial scale in 2027.

At scale, PlusAI estimates the business could produce more than $1 billion in annual recurring revenue, against a trucking industry it sizes at $1.7 trillion.