Led · Equity · Jan 2022

Phantom Auto develops a teleoperation platform enabling remote drivers to operate vehicles such as forklifts, yard trucks and sidewalk delivery bots. Founded in 2017, the company shifted focus from robotaxis to confined, low-speed logistics vehicles where commercial adoption is nearer-term. Its product set includes a remote driving system and a distance-driver training product that helped customers onboard workers during the pandemic. Phantom Auto has 17 commercial agreements, including Kenco, and a deepening relationship with ConGlobal, which operates a 700-yard-truck fleet. The yard truck program requires drive-by-wire trucks supplied by Terberg and will expand as Terberg delivers those vehicles. The company employs about 120 people, has raised $95 million to date and entered the current round at a reported pre-funding valuation of $500 million. Phantom Auto builds remote-operation software that lets operators control forklifts and other material-moving vehicles from off-site locations over available wireless networks. Its stack is described as hardware- and network-agnostic and aggregates connectivity from carriers such as AT&T and Verizon to deliver secure, low-latency sensor streaming and vehicle control. The technology supports use cases where humans remain in the loop for tasks like loading trailers and placing pallets at variable heights. Phantom already works with logistics and robotics firms such as ArcBest, NFI, Kenco and Serve Robotics. The company has roughly 75 full-time employees and plans to double headcount in the next few years while scaling products and services. Management says it will use recent funding to execute commercial commitments and expand deployments. Phantom Auto builds a teleoperation platform that allows remote drivers to take control of autonomous vehicles when they encounter difficult scenarios or accidents. The system uses public cellular networks and is intended as a safety backup rather than for split-second interventions. Phantom is expanding into logistics applications—sidewalks, warehouses, cargo yards—and commercial use cases including delivery robots, forklifts, and yard trucks. Customers can train their own employees to operate vehicles remotely; the company does not typically supply remote drivers for these deployments. Phantom works with large logistics companies and has named partner Terberg, a Dutch yard truck manufacturer. Founded in 2017, the company has raised about $19 million to date.