Autonomous-trucking company PlusAI is making a third attempt to reach the public markets via a merger with a blank-check company backed by Yorkville Advisors-managed funds.
The company said the deal gives the Silicon Valley-based company a roughly $800 million premoney equity valuation. It could provide PlusAI with up to about $300 million in capital, including more than $60 million in fully committed financing and roughly $236 million held in the special-purpose acquisition company's trust account.
The companies expect the deal to close this year.
The move comes after two previous listing attempts by PlusAI via mergers with SPACs fell through.
In 2021, PlusAI tried to go public for the first time by agreeing to merge with Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V in a transaction that valued the company at about $3.3 billion. The companies later terminated the deal amid regulatory concerns related to the company's business outside the U.S.
The company tried again in June 2025, announcing a planned merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX that valued PlusAI at $1.2 billion. That transaction was terminated in April by mutual consent due to market conditions.
The $800 million valuation in the latest transaction marks a sharp decline from PlusAI's earlier attempts to list, even as the company says it has moved closer to commercialization.
PlusAI said its HyperFoundry software platform, which helps develop and validate autonomous and physical AI systems, has generated $25 million in revenue. The company is targeting $40 million to $50 million in contracted revenue for this year.
The company said the proceeds from the transaction will be used to fund commercialization plans for its factory-built autonomous trucks.
PlusAI is seeking to distinguish itself with an OEM-led software model and a second business line generating revenue from the data, simulation and artificial-intelligence capabilities it has developed for autonomous driving.
Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will operate as PlusAI.