Episode 161 | Robots Do Not Bleed, Autonomy for Defense

Gabe Sganga, Head of Commercial Growth, RRAI joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss RRAI’s focus on autonomy for military and defense applications and how they have been able to apply the learnings from battle to their civilian business.

The conversation begins with Gabe discussing why RRAI is focused on autonomy for military and defense applications.

RRAI has always been a defense-first company. Strategically we are focused on delivering defense capabilities to support funded programs right now. – Gabe Sganga

RRAI’s autonomous vehicles have been deployed in theater around the world. When deploying autonomous vehicles in theater, the autonomous driving stack is hardened for the harsh environment of war. Through their deployments in theater, RRAI has been able to apply the learnings from battle to their civilian business. 

Operating in these conditions is not unique to defense, it’s unique to end-users who tackle the hardest jobs that keep the industrial heart of our country and economy running. – Gabe Sganga

Defense is a large part of RRAI’s business, but it is not the sole focus of the business. In addition to their defense business, RRAI has a growing commercial business with a keen focus on off-road autonomy applications. The company chose to focus on this commercial market as they viewed it as being underserved. 

The business model that RRAI operates under is autonomy-as-a-service. 

For autonomy-as-a-service, we wrap everything into a single license price.– Gabe Sganga

This model allows RRAI to update their fleet when new hardware and technology comes online and deploy it to their customers applications without having to charge them an upgrade fee. The model will only be enhanced when RRAI is able to secure a OEM deal for factory grade trucks built with their hardware and software fully integrated. 

For on-road applications, RRAI is focused on controlled environments such as distribution center yards, ports and logistics centers because of the regulatory environment. 

Wrapping up the conversation, Gabe discuses RRAI’s $220 million Series A round led by Softbank in January 2023.

Recorded on Friday, October 6, 2023

Chapters:

0:00 The Road to Autonomy Index

0:56 Introduction

1:23 Why Autonomy for Defense

6:10 Learnings from Autonomy Deployments in Defense Applications

13:54 Economics of RRAI's Defense Business

21:04 RRAI's Military Background

25:00 RRAI's Autonomous as a Service Business Model

30:27 RRAI's OEM Approach

37:28 RRAI On-Road Autonomy

39:00 Yard Trucks

43:58 RRAI Investors

45:30 Future of RRAI

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