Autonomous trucking software provider PlusAI will expand its partnership with commercial vehicle manufacturer Traton Group in a bid to accelerate the development and scaled deployment of on-highway autonomous trucking solutions in the U.S. and Europe, the companies said this week.

As part of the deal, Munich, Germany-based Traton will commit up to $25 million in R&D funding to PlusAI to accelerate factory integration of its SuperDrive software into autonomous trucks of Traton’s brands, which include Scania, MAN, and International.

According to California-based PlusAI, the partnership comes as freight fleets across the U.S. and Europe are facing persistent driver shortages, rising operating costs, and increasing demand for safer, more reliable freight capacity. However, meeting that need with broad adoption of autonomous vehicles will depend on confidence in vehicle performance, rigorous safety validation, and a commercialization model led by established OEMs.

The expanded partnership will build on the collaboration first announced in 2024, when PlusAI’s virtual driver system, SuperDrive, was selected as the on-highway autonomous driving platform for Traton’s brands. Since then, the companies say they have reached technical and operational milestones toward delivering Level 4 autonomous trucking capabilities. Notably, International initiated autonomous fleet trials in Texas with an unspecified logistics and transportation operator.

“Autonomous trucking is a strategic pillar of Traton’s long-term technology roadmap,” said Niklas Klingenberg, Member of the Executive Board, responsible for Research & Development in the Traton Group. “Autonomy represents a meaningful opportunity to deliver higher uptime and greater value for our fleet customers while strengthening the long-term competitiveness of our brands. Our expanded partnership will reflect both this confidence and our shared goal of bringing factory-built on-road autonomous trucks to market at scale.”

The German industrial robotics vendor RobCo has raised $100 million in backing, saying the funds will help to advance its Physical AI roadmap, expand enterprise deployments, and deepen the company’s presence in the U.S. market.

The firm first expanded into the United States in 2025 and now operates in San Francisco and Austin. RobCo says the U.S. has become a major growth market as manufacturers accelerate automation efforts in response to labor constraints, reshoring initiatives, and rising operational complexity.

The “series C” venture capital round was co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lingotto Innovation, alongside Sequoia Capital, Greenfield Partners, Kindred Capital, Leitmotif, and The Friedkin Group.

Founded in 2020 in Munich, RobCo says it enables increasingly autonomous robot operations inside real production environments including manufacturing and logistics. By combining perception, motion planning, and self-learning methods, RobCo’s platform is designed to reduce friction between today’s processes and end-to-end automation. According to the company, its technology integrates hardware and software as a single full-stack platform. That means its robots can acquire task-specific skills through demonstration and self-learning rather than manual programming, enabling faster deployment, rapid iteration, and easier adaptation to complex or variable processes.

“With $100 million of additional funding, we will become the dominant AI robotics company for manufacturing in the U.S. and Europe” said Roman Hölzl, CEO and Founder of RobCo. “This will allow us to execute on our purpose of automating the ordinary, so humans can do the extraordinary.”

The international IFOY competition for innovative material handling products has named the finalists for its annual awards, saying 17 products and solutions from eight countries have reached the final round, selected from a starting pool of 49 applications.

Winners will eventually be crowned in five categories: Integrated Customer Solutions, Industrial Trucks, Robot Warehouse System, Intralogistics Software, and Special of the Year.

To reach the final stage, all finalists will undergo the IFOY Audit during the “Test Camp Intralogistics” on April 15–16 in Dortmund, where industry visitors can experience and test the innovations live. The winners of the IFOY AWARD 2026 will be announced on June 25 at the Atrium of the IFOY event partner AEB in Stuttgart.

For the five product categories, the finalists include products from: Crown, idealworks, Jungheinrich, KNAPP, Libiao Robotics, Locus Robotics, Mobotic, Nomagic, PureLoX SOLUTIONS, SSI SCHÄFER, STILL, The Mobile Robot Company, and Wiltsche Fördersysteme.

And additionally, four young companies are competing for the title “IFOY Start-up of the Year.” They include: AI2Connect, Koiotech, Pyck, and Romb Technologies.

Transportation provider Werner Enterprises Inc. has acquired First Enterprises Inc., a Tennessee-based, privately-owned dedicated trucking company, for $245 million. Separately, Omaha, Nebraska-based Werner will also pay $37.8 million to acquire a portfolio of 11 real estate properties from First Enterprises, which does business as FirstFleet.

According to Werner, the two moves establish it as the fifth-largest dedicated carrier in the U.S., meaningfully increase revenues from its higher-margin dedicated division, and deliver immediate accretion to earnings per share. FirstFleet will operate as a business unit within Werner’s TTS segment, complementing the existing Dedicated division.

FirstFleet brings $615 million in annual revenues, approximately 2,400 tractors, 11,000 trailers, and 37 properties near 130 customer sites around the country. The firm says its capabilities are designed to service markets such as grocery, bakery goods, and corrugated packaging.

In comparison, Werner in 2025 had approximately 7,365 total dedicated trucks and nearly 40,000 trailers. Today, Werner said that buying FirstFleet accelerates its recent efforts to grow its dedicated division, which offers high margins and long-term contracts. With the addition of FirstFleet, Werner expects to grow its dedicated revenues by 50% and become North America's fifth-largest dedicated carrier, as ranked by power units.

“Powered by the talent of our combined associates, this partnership comes at the ideal moment for our company. By uniting FirstFleet's expertise in complementary new verticals with our resources and nearly 5,000 dDedicated trucks, we will improve our competitive position and accelerate profitable growth,” Werner’s Chairman and CEO, Derek Leathers, said in a release. “We are confident that, with the addition of the FirstFleet team, Werner will be stronger and even better positioned to serve our loyal customers and capitalize on profitable growth opportunities as market conditions continue to improve.”

The logistics real estate investment firm Realterm has acquired a portfolio of 22 industrial outdoor storage (IOS) and high flow through (HFT) properties for $111 million, saying they “significantly” expand its presence in key transportation and distribution corridors.

Annapolis, Maryland-based Realterm bought the properties totaling 324,903 square feet across some 80 acres from Axis Partners, an Atlanta-based real estate investor focused on supply chain infrastructure properties.

The 22-property portfolio comprises modern and recently renovated IOS, fleet maintenance, and HFT facilities spanning nine states including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, with concentrations in Atlanta (seven properties), Houston (three properties) and Laredo (four properties). The properties, including 14 maintenance facilities, seven transload buildings and one truck terminal, feature an optimal average building size of 14,800 square feet on approximately 4 acres, providing highly functional space with multiple maintenance bays, transload and warehousing capabilities, expansive outdoor storage areas, secured access and comprehensive site lighting. The portfolio is currently 95% leased.

“The fundamentals driving demand for IOS and HFT facilities in these markets remain strong as freight lanes shift,” Joe Noon, Senior Vice President of Investments, Realterm, said in a release. “We're seeing sustained growth in fleet maintenance and transload logistics that make highly functional, well-located assets such as these increasingly valuable to operators.”

Logistics provider C.H. Robinson has launched artificial intelligence (AI) agents to combat the problem of missed less than truckload (LTL) pickups, the company said.

The new technology is now tracking down missed pickups and using advanced reasoning to determine how to keep freight moving. Those agents are also collecting and analyzing previously unavailable data that LTL carriers are now using to improve their technology, scheduling, and operations.

C.H. Robinson says it launched the initiative because with one truck carrying freight from up to 20 different shippers, LTL shipping requires complex coordination to pick it all up, take it to a terminal, and recombine it on other trucks with other freight heading the same direction. That complexity means that missed pickups and costly delays can ripple through LTL networks.

According to the company, the results are already in: 95% of checks on missed LTL pickups have been automated, saving over 350 hours of manual work per day. And unnecessary return trips to pick up missed freight have been reduced by 42%.

“A missed pickup isn’t just a minor inconvenience,” Greg West, Vice President for LTL, said in a release. “When a truck arrives and the freight or packaging isn’t ready, or the carrier couldn’t make it because they got stuck in traffic, it forces another truck to come back the next day. That might not even be our shipper’s freight, but it creates a domino effect for other freight that was supposed to get picked up and for all the other trucks down the line.”

The new agents join a fleet of more than 30 other AI agents that C.H. Robinson has already built for LTL. They include units that handle LTL price quotes, orders, freight classification, shipment tracking, and proof of delivery.

“We don’t just throw AI at anything and everything. It’s not a hobby for us. We use AI agents only where they can deliver tangible business results,” C.H. Robinson’s vice president for artificial intelligence, Mark Albrecht, said. “Our Lean AI processes helped us uncover the extent of time wasted in handling missed pickups and where artificial intelligence had the most potential to augment our automation software.”

BNSF Railway has launched a $3.6 billion capital investment plan for 2026, saying that $2.8 billion of that sum will be devoted to physical maintenance on its freight transportation network.

Those maintenance projects will include replacing and upgrading rail, track infrastructure like ballast and rail ties, and maintaining rolling stock. It will consist of approximately 13,000 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work, the replacement of 2.5 million rail ties and more than 400 miles of rail.

According to the Fort Worth, Texas-based railway, investing in existing infrastructure results in fewer unscheduled service outages that can slow down the rail network and reduce capacity.

In addition, the plan calls for $358 million to be designated for expansion and efficiency projects. Within that amount, major facility projects include completing property acquisitions and continuing development activities for the planned Barstow International Gateway project in California and continuing development and starting construction activities for a future intermodal facility in the Phoenix area.

Major line expansion projects include track expansions at BNSF’s Galesburg, IL, and Winslow, AZ, yards to increase switching capacity, supporting network service performance and asset (railcars and locomotives) productivity initiatives.

Intermodal equipment and maintenance provider CMC today rebranded the company under its new name, combining three container hardware companies that merged in 2023 with the intent to address a wider market for maintenance and repair (M&R) and storage services for shipping containers.

Charleston, South Carolina-based CMC is the new name for those three firms; Marine Repair Service – Container Maintenance Company (CMC), ITI Intermodal, Inc. (ITI), and Columbia Container Services (CCS).

While the company’s name and visual identity are new, CMC said the organization will continue providing best-in-class maintenance, storage, and repair services for containerized freight across the South, Northeast and Midwest regions.

“This transformation represents the next step in our journey together,” Vince Marino, chief executive officer of CMC, said in a release. “Our new name and logo symbolize the strength that comes from the unity of three family-founded companies growing into one cohesive team. CMC stands for our shared commitment to safety, reliability, integrity, and the long-term relationships that define our success.”

Companies are outsourcing more business to third-party logistics providers (3PLs), and that rising trend drove larger industrial leases in 2025, with 3PLs capturing the largest share of the top 100 leases, according to a report from commercial real estate firm CBRE.

3PLs accounted for 44 of the top 100 leases in 2025, up 57% from 28 leases in 2024, CBRE said. The significant increase indicates that large companies are relying on 3PLs to manage their complex logistics so they can focus on their core business. At the same time, the rise of e-commerce is further fueling this trend, as online retailers increasingly rely on 3PLs for logistics support.

General retailers and wholesalers were second behind 3PLs with 28 lease signings, down from 38 in 2024. The automobile, tires and parts sector was the only other industry to increase its share of the top 100 with seven leases in 2025 compared with five in 2024.

“Occupiers committed to larger footprints and longer lease terms as they took advantage of opportunities to upgrade their space amid a continued flight to quality trend,” said John Morris,President of Americas Industrial & Logistics at CBRE. “2025’s activity reflects continued strong demand for large distribution facilities as occupiers prioritize scale, efficiency, and long-term supply chain solutions.

CBRE’s report reveals that, while the number of leases in 2025 exceeding 1 million sq. ft. declined to 46 from 49 in 2024, the average size of the top 100 leases increased to 988,000 sq. ft. from 968,000 sq. ft. The average lease term also rose to approximately 98 months, up from 92 months the year previously. The increase in lease terms is due to the stabilization of supply and rent growth. As a result, landlords are now more focused on maintaining occupancy and securing tenants for longer periods. Some landlords are offering incentives to lock in occupancy and reduce turnover risk.

French global logistics provider CMA CGM has taken delivery of its 400th owned vessel, the CMA CGM MONTE CRISTO, marking the first in a series of six methanol-fueled container ships and advancing the company’s decarbonization strategy.

With a carrying capacity of 15,000 twenty foot-equivalent units (TEUs), the 366-meter long ship will enter commercial service on 29 January 2026 in Ningbo, on the BEX2 – Phoenician Express service, connecting North Asia with the Levant and the Adriatic Sea.

By adding the CMA CGM MONTE CRISTO, the company reaches a milestone of 400 owned vessels, within a total fleet of more than 650 vessels worldwide. The boat becomes the 11th methanol container ship in the CMA CGM fleet, out of a total of 24 such vessels on order. Together, they are part of the company’s stated plan to achieve Net Zero Carbon by 2050.

In addition to its own fleet of vessels, CMA CGM is now marking 10 years as part of OCEAN Alliance, which it calls the world’s largest maritime network for the future of global trade. Recently extended until at least 2032, OCEAN Alliance operates 41 service routes by supporting a network of ships operated by its partner firms, the CMA CGM Group, COSCO Shipping, Evergreen and OOCL. Together, they deploy 394 container ships—including 130 CMA CGM vessels—hauling a total capacity of 5.3 million TEUs.

NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2026 — Cockroach Labs, a cloud-agnostic distributed SQL databases with CockroachDB, today announced findings from its second annual survey, “The State of AI Infrastructure 2026: Can Systems Withstand AI Scale?” The report reveals a growing concern that AI use is starting to overwhelm the traditional IT systems meant to support it. As […]

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Argonne National Laboratory has entered into a partnership with RIKEN, Fujitsu Limited and NVIDIA to advance artificial intelligence and high performance computing to accelerate scientific discovery. The agreement, based on a memorandum of understanding signed January 27, will aligns with DOE’s Genesis Mission, a national initiative to use AI ....

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Barcelona, Spain, January 29, 2026 — Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech today announced the release of EduQit, a modular quantum computing kit designed to enable hands-on training, experimental learning, and early-stage research using an on-site superconducting quantum computing system. EduQit enables universities and research institutions to work directly with a physical quantum computing system. This provides hand-on […]

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The UK government announced it has injected £36 million to increase the power of one of the UK’s leading supercomputing centres sixfold. This includes backing a new National Computational Resource supercomputer ....

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PALO ALTO, Calif. & Boca Raton, Florida – January 27, 2026 – D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS), a dual-platform quantum computing company, today announced that Florida Atlantic University (FAU) has signed an agreement to purchase an Advantage2 annealing quantum computer at its Boca Raton campus. The agreement represents a $20 million commitment from FAU, aiming to […]

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PALO ALTO, Calif. – January 27, 2026 – D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS), a dual-platform quantum computing company, today announced a $10 million, two-year enterprise quantum computing as a service (QCaaS) agreement with a leading Fortune 100 company. Under the agreement, the companies plan to collaborate to develop and deploy several quantum-powered applications. “This agreement marks a […]

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PARIS and TEL AVIV, January 27, 2026 –  C12, a European deep-tech company building spin qubit quantum processors, and Classiq, a software platform for enterprise-grade quantum computing development, today announced a strategic integration partnership. This collaboration is intended to bridge the gap between scalable quantum hardware and scalable quantum software, accelerating enterprise and research access to quantum computing. […]

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Abbas Nikroo, deputy director for physics integration at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF), has received the 2025 Distinguished Career Award by Fusion Power Associates.

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Lightmatter, photonic (super)computing company, today announced what the c ompany said is a foundational advancement in laser architecture: Very Large Scale Photonics (VLSP). Embodied in the Guide light engine, “this breakthrough creates the industry’s most integrated laser platform supporting unprecedented bandwidths—moving laser manufacturing from manual assembly lines toward foundry production,” Lightmatter […]

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. and BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – January 26, 2026 – IonQ and SkyWater Technology (NASDAQ: SKYT), a U.S.-based semiconductor foundry, today announced IonQ will acquire SkyWater for $35 per share in a cash-and-stock transaction, subject to a collar, implying a total equity value of approximately $1.8 billion.    “This transformational acquisition enables IonQ to materially accelerate its […]

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