PITTSBURGH — Autonomous truck company Aurora Innovation says it won’t start hauling freight without humans on board until April of next year, a delay from the end of 2024.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Autonomous trucks could help ease liability risk and alleviate rising insurance costs in the trucking industry by proactively identifying hazards and avoiding crashes.

Aurora Innovation raised $483 million in a public stock offering this week as the autonomous trucking company looks to fund operations beyond its commercial launch later this year.

Uber Freight and Aurora Innovation are launching a program aimed at providing carriers with early access to over a billion miles of driverless deliveries, the companies announced June 25.

Pittsburgh tech companies raised just over $3 billion in funding last year, led by landmark investments in autonomous vehicle startups like Aurora and Stack AV.

Aurora announced the completion of a Houston terminal that finalizes the first commercial-ready route for driverless trucks.

Autonomous technology developer Aurora says it has set itself up financially for up to the next two years with a new round of public and private funding. 

A number of autonomous truck developers like Aurora have set up operations in Texas, allowing them to run test drivers and preview routes with their self-driving technology.

The prospect of a driverless semi is scary to many, but not to Aurora Innovation CEO Chris Urmson, who helped to build Google’s autonomous vehicle unit.

Aurora took another step toward an autonomous delivery network with the launch of its first commercial-ready terminal for autonomous trucks in South Dallas.