Autonomous trucking firm Einride secures $113M PIPE funding before planned public listing

Einride has closed an oversubscribed $113 million PIPE (private investment in public equity) round ahead of its expected public market debut, slated for the first half of 2026.

The Swedish startup is best known for developing electric freight trucks and autonomous, pod-like vehicles designed to haul cargo without a human driver. Einride revealed last November that it plans to go public through a merger with the special purpose acquisition company Legato Merger Corp.

That transaction now assigns Einride a $1.35 billion pre-money valuation, down from the $1.8 billion valuation that was initially attached to the SPAC announcement. Even with the reduced valuation, investor interest appears strong. The new PIPE round came in oversubscribed and exceeded the company’s earlier goal of raising to $100 million.

Einride said the PIPE includes both new and existing backers, including a global asset management firm based on the West Coast of the United States and Stockholm-based EQT Ventures.

Altogether, Einride has now secured roughly $213 million in connection with the broader transaction, including $100 million in crossover financing previously announced.

The SPAC deal — which is expected to result in Einride listing on the New York Stock Exchange — had originally been projected to provide around $220 million from Legato’s trust account. With the additional $113 million PIPE included, the companies are now projecting total gross proceeds of about $333 million before accounting for redemptions and transaction-related expenses. They also said they may look to raise additional capital before the deal closes.

Einride plans to use the funds to support its technology roadmap, expand globally, and scale autonomous deployments across North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Beyond Sweden, Einride currently operates a fleet of about 200 heavy-duty electric trucks across Europe, North America, and the UAE, serving customers including Heineken, PepsiCo, Carlsberg Sweden, and DP World. The company has also carried out limited deployments of its autonomous pod-like trucks with select partners, including Apotea in Sweden and GE Appliances in the United States.

Einride is not the first autonomous vehicle company to choose a SPAC route in recent years to access public markets and raise additional funding. Aurora Innovation went public via a SPAC merger in 2021, valued at $13 billion, and has since launched a commercial self-driving trucking operation that still includes a human observer on board. Kodiak AI also pursued a SPAC pathway to the public market in 2025.