Autonomous trucking software developer Plus Automation Inc., known as PlusAI, said today it will go public through a merger with blank-check company Texas Ventures Acquisition III Corp. at a pre-money equity value of about $800 million.
That makes three attempts at a listing in five years. Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V agreed in May 2021 to take the company public at a valuation of about $3.3 billion for the combined company, but the two sides scrapped the deal six months later. Churchill Capital Corp IX tried next, announcing a $1.2 billion combination in June 2025 and terminating it on April 20. Market conditions were the stated reason.
About $236 million sits in the Texas Ventures III trust, though redemptions could cut into that. A further $60 million or so is committed, most of it through five-year senior guaranteed convertible notes with $63.9 million in principal and $57.5 million in net proceeds, carrying warrants exercisable at $12, alongside roughly $4 million in equity and warrant subscriptions from accredited investors.
Funds managed by Yorkville Advisors Global LP, which backs Texas Ventures III, are among the investors. PlusAI said the committed financing satisfies the minimum cash condition to close, and the transaction funds the business through 2027.
PlusAI’s revenue to date comes from HyperFoundry, the development platform the company built to create and validate its own autonomous systems. Other firms working on autonomous and robotic products can now license it. The platform draws on a decade of accumulated driving data, models and simulation capability. That business booked $25 million this year, and contracted revenue across the company is targeted at $40 million to $50 million for 2026.
The company’s self-driving software, called SuperDrive, is built with those same tools and rated Level 4, a classification meaning the system handles all driving within a defined operating area with no human expected to take over. Trucks running it are hauling freight on routes in Texas with Ryder System Inc. and truck manufacturer International Motors LLC.
PlusAI plans to sell access on a subscription it calls Driver-as-a-Service. At scale, the company estimates the business could produce more than $1 billion in annual recurring revenue, against a trucking industry it sizes at $1.7 trillion.
The trucks themselves come from established manufacturers. PlusAI has integration agreements with TRATON SE, Hyundai Motor Co. and Iveco Group N.V., and factory-built trucks with SuperDrive installed are targeted for commercial launch in 2027. TRATON committed up to $25 million in dedicated research funding in January to speed that work along.
Chief Executive David Liu said the transaction “validates a year of significant execution and operational milestones.” The data, models and simulation capability built over the past decade are being monetized now, he said, while SuperDrive advances toward its launch.
Conviction in the deal is “reflected in the capital we are committing alongside the transaction,” said Troy Rillo, chief executive of Texas Ventures III.
Both boards approved the agreement unanimously. Closing is expected this year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, after which existing PlusAI stockholders and the Texas Ventures III sponsor will be subject to lock-ups. The combined company will operate as PlusAI.