Shares of autonomous driving technology company Aurora Innovation (AUR) surged 20% in the pre-market trading session on Tuesday, following the announcement of a major long-term partnership deal with chipmaker Nvidia and automotive supplier Continental.

The strategic alliance aims to accelerate the deployment of driverless trucks at commercial scale, leveraging Nvidia's cutting-edge DRIVE Thor system-on-chip (SoC) and software platform. Aurora's autonomous driving system, known as the Aurora Driver, will be integrated with Nvidia's DRIVE Thor and DriveOS, with Continental set to mass-manufacture the combined solution starting in 2027.

This collaboration is seen as a significant milestone for Aurora, positioning the company at the forefront of the autonomous trucking industry. Aurora plans to launch its driverless trucking service in Texas as early as April 2025, marking a crucial step towards the widespread adoption of self-driving technology in the logistics and transportation sectors.