Overland AI unveils self-driving vehicle for military that goes 35 MPH and navigates off-road terrain

Seattle startup Overland AI debuted its own autonomous tactical vehicle designed to navigate off-road terrain for military use. The vehicle, dubbed “ULTRA,” reaches a top speed of 35 MPH and has a 1,000-pound payload capacity. It can travel for 100 miles. The vehicle is built with Overland’s self-driving technology that enables giant 4-wheelers to drive without humans or GPS. The unveiling of ULTRA marks a milestone for Overland, which has integrated its software into other vehicles to date. “ULTRA can navigate environments ranging from dense forests to volcanic ridges,” Byron Boots, co-founder and CEO of Overland AI, said in a statement. “This… Read More

Apr 14, 2025 - 18:01

Overland AI unveils self-driving vehicle for military that goes 35 MPH and navigates off-road terrain

Seattle startup Overland AI debuted its own autonomous tactical vehicle designed to navigate off-road terrain for military use.

The vehicle, dubbed “ULTRA,” reaches a top speed of 35 MPH and has a 1,000-pound payload capacity. It can travel for 100 miles. The vehicle is built with Overland’s self-driving technology that enables giant 4-wheelers to drive without humans or GPS.

The unveiling of ULTRA marks a milestone for Overland, which has integrated its software into other vehicles to date.

“ULTRA can navigate environments ranging from dense forests to volcanic ridges,” Byron Boots, co-founder and CEO of Overland AI, said in a statement. “This empowers the warfighter to win in crucial contested theaters like the Indo-Pacific while keeping them out of harm’s way.”

Overland spun out of the University of Washington in 2022 and announced a $32 million funding round in January.

Last year Overland won a two-year contract worth up to $18.6 million with the U.S. Army and Defense Innovation Unit to develop its OverDrive technology platform for the U.S. Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle. Other recipients included top defense tech companies Anduril and Palantir.

Overland also works with the U.S. Marine Corps and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a unit of the Department of Defense.

Earlier this year the company opened a 22,000 square-foot production facility in Seattle. Overland plans to employ 20 people at the factory by the end of the year. Overland currently has around 60 employees; its corporate headquarters is in the Northlake neighborhood.

Boots is a highly regarded robotics researcher who leads the UW’s Robot Learning Laboratory and is the Amazon Professor of Machine Learning at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering.

Overland is ranked No. 42 on the GeekWire 200, our list of top privately held startups across the Pacific Northwest. Its investors include 8VC, Point72 Ventures, Overmatch Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Ascend, Osage University Partners, and Caprock.

Overland is a finalist in two GeekWire Awards categories: AI Innovation of the Year, and Workplace of the Year.