9. The Future of Delivery is Autonomous – Gautam Narang, Co-Founder and CEO, Gatik AI

The “middle mile” is the segment where Gatik AI is planting its flag. Gautam Narang, Co-Founder and CEO of Gatik AI, joins host Grayson Brulte to talk about how the company’s focus on middle mile autonomous delivery to help alleviate logistical and delivery challenges has set them apart from others in the AV industry. The conversation kicks off with how Gautam’s early life played a major role in the founding of Gatik, starting with his mother’s job as a science teacher in India spurring his interest in robotics to his professional desire to have a big impact on society. Gautam and Grayson discuss recent developments at Gatik, including the launch of the autonomous box truck and partnership with Walmart, which have helped enable the retailer’s rapid growth of online grocery delivery. They also identify Gatik’s target market segments, thoughtful approach to growth, and goal to serve entire middle mile segment with different kind of form factors. As the conversation turns to shifting delivery time expectations, Gautam explains how the further adoption of a hub-and-spoke model has increased the number of delivery routes and need for more trucks, which has allowed Gatik’s autonomous solution to prosper. The two examine COVID-19’s impact on the surge of online grocery shopping and how contactless delivery is here to stay. The conversation concludes with some prognostication of future trends in logistics and “middle mile” autonomous delivery.   Learn more about Gatik AI at http://gatik.ai.   Subscribe to SAE Tomorrow Today or visit www.sae.org/podcasts to stay up to date on all the latest information from SAE. Follow SAE on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. Learn more about SAE’s events by visiting: www.sae.org/attend.