US startup banks on self-driving trucks over self-driving cars

San Francisco

IMAGINE you are driving on a highway late at night when a big-rig truck closes in behind you. You relax because it is keeping a safe distance and seems to be obeying the speed limit. Now imagine that truck is driving itself.

Despite Silicon Valley's enthusiasm for self-driving cars, it could be years before there are many of them on the road. But autonomous 18-wheelers? One startup is betting that is a different matter.