From Albuquerque to Texas: Torc Prepares for Commercial Operations
Peter Vaughan Schmidt, CEO, Torc joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how Torc is preparing to launch commercial operations in Texas.
Torc’s strategic relocation from Albuquerque to Fort Worth, Texas was a move that aligned with changing market dynamics. Texas’ regulatory environment combined with a growing demand for freight movement, makes the state an ideal market to launch commercial autonomous trucking operations.
Looking ahead to 2027, Torc plans to launch commercial autonomous trucking operations in Texas. When the service is launched, customers will purchase autonomous-ready Cascadias from Freightliner, own the asset and subscribe to Torc’s virtual driver service.
Recorded on Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Episode Chapters
- 0:00 Torc Moves from Albuquerque to Texas
- 4:37 Autonomous-Ready Cascadias
- 8:57 Preparing for Driver-Out Operations
- 11:01 Torc’s Perception System
- 12:22 From a Robotics Stack to an AI Stack
- 15:26 Autonomous Truck Policy
- 17:08 AI’s Is Accelerating Torc’s Commercial Launch
- 20:32 Scaling Commercial Operations
- 22:39 Buying an Autonomous Truck Powered by Torc
- 24:24 Torc Business Model
- 30:07 Autonomous Truck Maintenance
- 34:09 Capital Allocation Strategy
- 37:21 Outside Capital
- 39:44 Additional OEMs
- 41:05 Waymo
- 43:29 Autonomous Trucking Market
- 45:17 Torc Outlook
