Oakland, California – Glid Technologies, a company specializing in autonomous road-to-rail vehicles, has successfully closed an oversubscribed $3.1 million pre-seed funding round, positioning itself to significantly enhance the efficiency and capacity of the U.S. freight logistics network. The investment, led by Outlander VC, with participation from Draper U Ventures, The Veteran Fund, Antler, M1C, and angel investors, will accelerate the deployment of Glid's innovative dual-mode vehicles. This development comes as the company prepares to launch a pilot project in California, aiming to revolutionize how goods are transported across the nation.
Glid Technologies, founded by CEO Kevin Damoa, a veteran with experience from SpaceX and Google, is developing "Gliders," which are autonomous vehicles capable of seamlessly transitioning between roads and railway tracks. These cab-less flatbed units are designed to carry substantial trailer freight, up to 80,000 pounds, directly from origin to rail lines without the need for traditional transload infrastructure like cranes or forklifts. The company's proprietary AI-driven EZRA-1SIX logistics platform manages real-time dispatch and multimodal routing, ensuring efficient operations.
The company's technology is anticipated to bring considerable benefits to the U.S. industrial base. As stated by Andrew Côté in a recent tweet, Glid's road-to-rail cars contribute to "cheaper freight than ever before" and "doubles effective capacity of existing rail." Additionally, the system is expected to "remove congestion from highways," by shifting more cargo onto underutilized rail infrastructure.
Glid's approach aims to address critical inefficiencies in the current supply chain, including labor shortages and the underutilization of existing rail lines. Early projections suggest that the platform could reduce first-mile logistics costs by up to 40 percent and lower carbon emissions by over 60 percent compared to traditional diesel operations. The $3.1 million funding will specifically support the launch of GliderM, a hybrid-powered manned road-to-rail vehicle, into field operations in California and Washington in Q3 2025.
The pilot project, set to commence in 2025, will see Glid's Glider M and the fully autonomous AR2RV integrated into operations on California's historic Skunk Train route, operated by Mendocino Railway. This collaboration is poised to demonstrate the practical application of Glid's technology in a real-world freight environment, with the broader goal of making rail freight more accessible and efficient for commercial and defense logistics alike.