Swedish EV self-driving trucking startup Einride to go public via SPAC deal valuing the company at $1.8 billion

Autonomous EV trucking startup Einride is gearing up for its biggest milestone yet — a public debut on the New York Stock Exchange through a SPAC merger with Legato Merger Corp. III, valuing the Swedish startup at $1.8 billion. The deal is expected to raise around $219 million in gross proceeds, with another $100 million potentially coming from institutional investors through PIPE financing. Einride plans to begin trading in the first half of 2026.

The Stockholm-based company said it has built a strong base of recurring revenue, reporting $65 million in contracted annual recurring revenue (ARR) and $800 million in potential long-term ARR from ongoing deals. Founded in 2016, Einride has grown into one of the leading names in autonomous and electric freight, operating across seven countries with major clients like GE Appliances, Apotea, Heineken, and PepsiCo.

“Today marks a defining moment for Einride and for the future of freight technology,” Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli said in a news release. “We’ve proven the technology, built trust with global customers, and shown that autonomous and electric operations are not just possible, but better. This transaction positions us to accelerate our global expansion and continue to deliver with speed and precision for our customers.”

Autonomous EV Trucking Startup Einride to Go Public via $1.8B SPAC Deal with Legato Merger Corp III

Einride’s move comes amid a broader resurgence in SPAC activity, particularly in tech and transport sectors. According to SPACAnalytics.com, SPACs have accounted for 118 of the 168 IPOs in the U.S. this year, making up roughly 65% of all new listings. Data from Renaissance Capital shows 2025 is shaping up to be the third-biggest year ever for SPACs, behind the 2020–2021 boom years.

The trend is spilling into crypto and mobility tech. Earlier this year, The Ether Machine announced its own $1.6 billion SPAC merger, signaling renewed investor appetite for high-tech ventures that once faced regulatory headwinds. Einride’s listing now adds autonomous freight to that comeback story.

The company’s pitch is straightforward: freight trucking is a $4.6 trillion industry plagued by inefficiency and emissions, and electrification is the only viable fix. Einride has been steadily proving that point through its deployments across Europe and the U.S. Its trucks — both human-driven electric and fully autonomous — have logged over 11 million electric miles, completed 350,000 shipments, and run 1,700 driverless hours in commercial settings.

According to CNBC, Einride has already earned regulatory approval for autonomous operations in both Europe and the U.S., marking a significant milestone last year with GE Appliances in Kentucky and Apotea in Sweden — the latter being Europe’s first daily autonomous freight route.

Einride’s technology goes beyond vehicles. It licenses both its operational AI platform and autonomous driving system to third parties. The company recently inked a deal with DP World to deploy the largest autonomous EV fleet in the Middle East, operating at Jebel Ali Port in Dubai — one of the busiest shipping hubs in the world.

Einride’s expansion strategy has also caught the attention of global brands. Heineken added EV routes between the Netherlands and Germany, extending to Austria last year, while Mars is working with Einride to deploy 300 electric trucks across Europe by 2030.

For investors, Einride’s merger marks another high-profile bet on the intersection of automation, electrification, and logistics. But it also comes with risk. Legato’s earlier SPAC ventures — Algoma Steel and Southland Holdings — are both trading below their $10 merger price, reflecting broader market caution around de-SPAC performance.

Even so, Eric Rosenfeld, Chief SPAC Officer of Legato, expressed confidence in the deal: “This transaction with Einride aligns with our vision to bring industry-leading, innovative technology to the public markets. Einride’s proven customer relationships, regulatory achievements, and technology platform position the Company to be a leader in the transformation of the freight industry.”

Einride has spent nearly a decade building its credibility. It’s appeared on the CNBC Disruptor 50 list for three consecutive years, ranking No. 24 in 2025. Its timing now seems intentional — the SPAC window has reopened just as autonomous and electric freight solutions are shifting from pilot projects to large-scale operations.

The company’s closest competitors include Aurora Innovation and Waabi, which recently hired Uber Freight founder Lior Ron as its COO. Together, they’re shaping a new phase for freight — one where logistics may eventually be run by algorithms, not drivers.

For Einride, the SPAC route offers something more than just capital. It’s a validation that autonomous freight isn’t a futuristic concept — it’s a business that’s already moving goods, reducing emissions, and reshaping how global supply chains operate.