Humble Robotics raises $24M to develop autonomous cargo vehicles

Startup Humble Robotics emerged from stealth in April 2026 with $24 million in funding to build fully autonomous, cabin-free electric freight trucks. The company's founder Eyal Cohen is a veteran of the autonomous vehicles space with a background at Otto and Pronto. According to experts, the renewed investment activity echoes the hype cycle of 2016.

The autonomous vehicles sector is experiencing a resurgence that reminds many of the enthusiasm wave of 2016. Capital and talent are flowing back into the field, and this time the people at the helm have learned from the previous wave.

Cabin-free electric freight truck

One of them is Eyal Cohen, founder and CEO of Humble Robotics. Cohen belongs to the cohort of Bay Area startup veterans whose background includes work at Otto, a pioneer in freight autonomy, from which he later moved to Pronto, founded by Anthony Levandowski. Over two decades, Cohen has worked in electrification, solar energy, and robotics.

In April 2026, Humble Robotics emerged from stealth with $24 million in funding. The company's goal is to create a fully autonomous, cabin-free electric freight truck designed for the freight market.

The hype cycle repeats

According to Cohen, the current situation strongly resembles 2016, when the autonomous vehicles sector experienced its first major hype wave. Travis Kalanick, Uber's former CEO, is also back on the scene now, building his own robotics company. Capital and talent wars have been reignited with similar intensity.

The difference, however, is that today's builders are wiser from the lessons of the previous wave. Cohen told TechCrunch's Equity podcast that 15 years of building startups has given him an understanding of which mistakes to avoid and which technological approaches actually work.