[Photo: Volvo Autonomous Solutions]
Self-driving 18-wheeler traffic on I-45 between Dallas and Houston just got a little busier.
Sweden-based Volvo Autonomous Solutions has announcement a partnership with Denmark-based logistics company DSV on autonomous freight operations in Texas. V.A.S. said it’s expanding its operations in Texas by launching autonomous transport services for DSV between Aurora’s terminals in greater Dallas and Houston, and is integrating them into DSV’s existing commercial trucking logistics flows.
In June 2023, V.A.S. opened an office in Fort Worth, from which it launched its first U.S. autonomous freight operations in December 2024 in partnership with Aurora Innovation and DHL Supply Chain. Those initial runs were between Fort Worth and El Paso and Dallas and Houston.
Safety driver behind the wheel for now
During the initial phase of the V.A.S.-DSV collaboration, a safety driver will be behind the wheel, which aligns with Volvo’s current operational mode. For now, the companies say, the goal is to strengthen day-to-day performance while building operational experience that supports expansion to additional routes beyond the Dallas-Houston “lane.”
Helmut Schweighofer, CEO of DSV Road, said autonomous driving “is moving towards real-world operations.”
“Our collaboration with Volvo in Texas represents a production, depot-to-depot setup,” he added in a statement. “We see clear opportunities to improve safety and driver comfort, help mitigate a growing driver shortage, and unlock better asset utilization through 24/7 operations for the benefit of our customers.”
Sasko Cuklev, head of on-road Solutions at V.A.S., called logistics providers like DSV “an important customer group for Volvo Autonomous Solutions,” and said DSV is at the forefront of how autonomous transport can be applied in real logistics networks.
“Starting between Dallas and Houston, we plan to move freight together in a way that supports round-the-clock operations and creates a scalable foundation for adding more lanes over time,” Cuklev added in a statement.
Deploying V.A.S.’s Autona/freight solution
Volvo Autonomous Solutions said it is deploying its Autona/freight solution for the DSV collaboration on I-45. The end-to-end autonomous transport setup technology combines Volvo VNL Autonomous with self-driving technology from partners Aurora and Waabi, along with additional systems and services required to operate self-driving freight at scale.
V.A.S. said it has logged more than one million miles in regional and local freight since 2023.
Self-driving competitors abound on I-45 and beyond
In a first, Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation launched fully driverless commercial trucking runs between Dallas and Houston in April 2025.
Bot Auto—a Houston-based autonomous trucking startup offering transportation as a service (TaaS) through its AI-driven fleet—is partnering with Kansas freight brokerage Ryan Transportation to launch “humanless,” autonomous trucking runs between Dallas and Houston, as we wrote about in February.
Self-driving truck developer Torc Robotics, a subsidiary of Daimler Truck, is establishing a major driverless trucking hub in Fort Worth to support autonomous freight operations on the I-35 corridor.
Kodiak Robotics has delivered refrigerated freight for quick service restaurants between Dallas and Oklahoma City with its own autonomous trucks. And Gatik has partnered with Kroger and with Pitney Bowes for self-driving deliveries in Dallas.
In April 2024, Uber- and Nvidia-backed Waabi, a Toronto startup, opened an autonomous trucking terminal in Lancaster, just south of Dallas, with its own plans to launch “driver-out” operations between the Dallas and Houston metros.
Don’t miss what’s next. Subscribe to Dallas Innovates.
Track Dallas-Fort Worth’s business and innovation landscape with our curated news in your inbox Tuesday-Thursday.
R E A D N E X T
North Texas has plenty to see, hear, and watch. Here are our editors’ picks. Plus, you’ll find more selections to “save the date.”
Dallas’ third poet laureate Kristoddie Woods steps in alongside youth poet laureate Cadence Diggs, a 17-year-old Booker T. Washington High School student, for a two-year term.
The new office is designed to simplify how organizations work with SMU—whether through research partnerships, workforce development, or student engagement.
“The old human-in-the-loop rules really don’t work as well when you’re looking at ubiquitous, automated AI agents that are acting 24/7 as digital workers.” Danny Tobey, M.D., J.D. Chair, AI and Data Analytics DLA Piper …speaking at Convergence AI Dallas on March 31 We’re moving “from an era of chatbot AI, where there is always a human at the receiving end of recommendations, to agentic and physical AI,” a world, Danny Tobey said, where AI “takes actions and makes decisions on behalf of humans” and “does so in ways that don’t always stop for human intervention, permission and understanding.” Companies…
Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation CEO Steve Miff shares approach to transparency in its prediction models.
Nine student and alumni teams made the finals in three tracks: undergraduate, graduate student, and alumni. Winning ideas ranged from AI sales coaching to radiation mapping and noninvasive brain drug delivery as the university’s entrepreneurship push continues to scale.
Cuban didn’t hold back at Convergence AI Dallas, where his onstage conversation with Alex Kantrowitz delivered blunt advice and unfiltered insights.
Dallas Innovates and our partners at the Dallas Regional Chamber spotlight the names you need to know in Dallas-Fort Worth’s AI economy.
The premium flexible workspace brand aims to bring founders, executives, and high-growth teams into a shared professional community.
Explore and discover why Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing regions in the U.S. in this comprehensive guide.