Nashville, Tennessee – Bridgestone Americas has made a minority investment in U.S. autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics, it was announced on June 16.

The partnership will see Bridgestone integrate its smart-sensing tire technologies and fleet solutions into Kodiak’s Level 4 autonomous trucks, the tire maker said in a statement.

Companies will also pilot future autonomous and intelligent tire technologies to improve vehicle intelligence and develop “a safer, more efficient and more sustainable future of mobility”.

“Automated vehicles offer a number of benefits to commercial fleet customers and to society, including safer roads with fewer unexpected incidents and up to 20% fuel and efficiency savings,” said said Paolo Ferrari, President and CEO of Bridgestone Americas.

Tire-centric technologies, he continued, are an important part of innovations in mobility.

The investment, according to Ferrari, will allow Bridgestone and Kodiak to work together to co-develop advanced mobility solutions with speed and precision “that will revolutionize commercial trucking.”

Kodiak autonomously moves freight for its customers using its fleet of Level 4 autonomous long-haul trucks in the state of Texas with a security driver on board.

The company plans to deploy driverless trucks over the next few years and will need “full vehicle intelligence” for safety.

Bridgestone plans to provide its cloud-based technologies to help predict tire health and maintenance to improve vehicle safety and efficiency.