# Mars Auto

> Mars Auto is a South Korean AI company building self-driving Class 8 trucks for long-haul freight. Founded in 2017 by KAIST computer scientists Ilsu Park and Gyuri Im, it uses a vision-only, end-to-end AI driving agent - seven cameras and a single neural network, with no LiDAR and no HD maps - that can be retrofitted onto existing trucks. Mars Auto ran the first commercial long-haul autonomous freight in Korea in 2023 and began paid U.S. operations from a Texas base in 2024, aiming to deploy fully unmanned trucks by 2028.

- **Founded:** 2017
- **Headquarters:** Seoul, South Korea (U.S. base in Round Rock/Austin, Texas)
- **Founders:** Ilsu Park (Co-founder & CEO), Gyuri Im (Co-founder)
- **Team size:** About 15-17 employees
- **Products:** Vision-based end-to-end AI driving agent, Retrofit autonomy kit for Class 8 trucks, Autonomous freight operations, Fleet data network
- **Notable:** Ran what it calls the world's longest single-route autonomous freight haul - about 3,379 km from the Port of Long Beach to Hyundai Mobis plants in Alabama and Georgia over three days, up to ~1,300 km per day., First and only company to run commercial long-haul autonomous freight in South Korea (from 2023, under a regulatory sandbox)., Accumulated roughly 20 million km of real truck-driving data and 2.5 million km of autonomous driving; reports 1.2M+ autonomous miles.

## Products & services

- **Vision-based end-to-end AI driving agent** — A single neural network that takes video from seven onboard cameras and directly handles perception, decision-making, and control - no LiDAR and no HD maps required, so the truck can operate on roads it has never seen.
- **Retrofit autonomy kit for Class 8 trucks** — A hardware-plus-software package (computer, cameras, actuators) that can be installed on existing commercial trucks to add supervised self-driving, rather than requiring purpose-built vehicles.
- **Autonomous freight operations** — Supervised autonomous long-haul freight service moving real cargo hub-to-hub for logistics and manufacturing customers in Korea and the United States.
- **Fleet data network** — A carrier network the company says supports 30+ carriers and 100,000+ daily miles, feeding real-world driving data back into the AI and reporting 12%+ better fuel efficiency.

## Achievements

- Ran what it calls the world's longest single-route autonomous freight haul - about 3,379 km from the Port of Long Beach to Hyundai Mobis plants in Alabama and Georgia over three days, up to ~1,300 km per day.
- First and only company to run commercial long-haul autonomous freight in South Korea (from 2023, under a regulatory sandbox).
- Accumulated roughly 20 million km of real truck-driving data and 2.5 million km of autonomous driving; reports 1.2M+ autonomous miles.
- Graduated from Y Combinator (2019).
- Founder Ilsu Park named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia (2021).
- Expanded to paid U.S. operations in 2024 with a base in Round Rock, Texas.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Coverage of Mars Auto pitching its camera-based self-driving trucks from Korea to the U.S. market.
- **2026-05** — Mars Auto expands U.S. self-driving truck business with support from Korea's industry ministry.
- **2024-11** — Mars Auto signals it is gearing up to compete in the U.S. autonomous-trucking market.
- **2024** — Began paid U.S. freight operations, testing corridors around Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio from a Texas base.
- **2023** — Launched Korea's first commercial long-haul autonomous freight service.

## Links

- Website: https://marsauto.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/marsauto
- GitHub: https://github.com/marsauto
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarsauto

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mars-auto
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-19