Dive Brief: - Aurora Innovation’s ability to deliver an 85-cent-per-mile operating cost is drawing interest from carriers, COO David Maday said on a call with analysts Wednesday. - With the company expanding routes and commercial rollouts, interest in the company’s driverless technology “has been picking up a lot over the last six months,” he said. - “Frankly, the number of inbounds that we’re getting has been just increasing dramatically,” Maday said, adding that the company’s projected pricing enables the company to succeed and “support broad-scaled adoption for our customers.” Dive Insight: Aurora told Trucking Dive it anticipates deploying more than 200 driverless trucks without people behind the wheel by the end of the year. Maday said that will translate to $80 million in revenue by the end of 2026. A spokesperson for Aurora said in an email to Trucking Dive the company currently has 30 trucks serving its driverless routes. Those routes validated for driverless operations are Dallas and Houston; Fort Worth and El Paso; El Paso and Phoenix; Fort Worth and Phoenix; Fort Worth and Phoenix; and Dallas and Laredo, the spokesperson said. The firm expects revenue growth to continue into 2027 and beyond, driven by deepening relations with existing partners. In the days leading up to its Q1 earnings release, Aurora announced April 30 an expansion of its partnership with Hirschbach Motor Lines, where the reefer carrier will own 500 driverless trucks operated by the tech firm’s technology. On May 4, Aurora announced a new 200-mile route between Dallas and Oklahoma City with partner Volvo Autonomous Solutions. Through that partnership, Volvo will haul freight autonomously to customer facilities, which will reduce the need for drayage moves and additional handoffs, according to the announcement. That was followed by a May 6 announcement of a new autonomous route with McLane