Across Europe’s logistics hubs, thousands of diesel yard tractors move trailers in short, repetitive loops. From dock to parking, parking to warehouse, warehouse to production line, the work never stops. It is continuous, often carried out at night, exposed to harsh weather and tight manoeuvring conditions. It is operationally critical, yet historically invisible. This is the environment ex9 set out to transform.
Automating the invisible backbone of industry
Founded in 2021 in France by Ksenia Duarte and Enzo Salvatore, ex9 deploys autonomous electric yard tractors within closed industrial sites. Its safety-by-design system integrates advanced perception, AI-powered data fusion and high-precision manoeuvring to automate trailer movements with a 99 per cent success rate in coupling and docking.
The impact is measurable. Customers adopting ex9’s system report up to 30 per cent lower operational costs, and up to 94 per cent lower CO₂ emissions compared with diesel-based operations. Actual savings vary depending on site configuration, fleet size, operating hours and geography. However, the figures tell only part of the story.
From autonomous driving to industrial yards
Ksenia and Enzo did not enter logistics by chance. With backgrounds in autonomous driving technologies, they first worked on robotaxis and public transport automation. They soon saw a more immediate, commercially robust opportunity in yard logistics, a controlled environment where automation could deliver clear ROI from day one.
Rather than expanding broadly, ex9 deliberately narrowed its focus to two high-impact use cases: repetitive transport loops in manufacturing plants and swap-body operations for parcel and e-commerce logistics.
Rocket Up 2025: Structuring European expansion
That strategic discipline became even sharper through participation in the EIT Community Supernovas Rocket Up 2025, a go-to-market programme for women-led startups that provides guidance to define target markets, validate market-entry strategies, and design localised plans for successful expansion across Europe.
“There are so many opportunities as a startup. Chasing them all is the fastest way to lose focus. Rocket Up helped us structure our thinking and plan our expansion intentionally.”
Through tailored mentoring and ecosystem access, ex9 refined its UK go-to-market strategy and strengthened investor readiness. Supernovas facilitated connections with the EIT Hub UK and the Calling2Scale UK programme, enabling Ksenia to engage directly with mobility experts and decision-makers on the ground. That proximity proved essential to understanding cultural nuances in business negotiations.
“International expansion is not about translating what you already have into another language. You have to understand the culture of decision-making, how people think, how they commit and how they evaluate risk.”
That clarity translated into visibility. At Slush, during the Rocket Up graduation, ex9 won the final go-to-market pitch. Ksenia attributes the recognition not to spectacle but to simplicity. She focused on explaining complex automation technology in clear business language, highlighting recurring revenue, industrial pilots and tangible operational impact.
From bootstrapping to seed: Building commercial momentum
The company’s trajectory reinforces that credibility. After bootstrapping since inception, ex9 closed a pre-seed round in early 2025. The company is transitioning from proof of concept to MVP deployments, with more than 30 industrial sites under Letters of Intent and a €0.6 million project with DHL validating early commercial traction.
Recently awarded the Special European Startup Prize for Mobility by a panel of leading European partners, including VIA ID VC, BCG, and BMW Group, ex9 is accelerating its deployment strategy, with the ambition to operate across 100 industrial sites by 2030.
Yet beyond revenue projections, Ksenia’s leadership represents something equally significant.
In an industry traditionally dominated by heavy industrial incumbents, she positions ex9 not as a niche robotics venture but as a comprehensive service partner delivering plug-and-play automation aligned with Europe’s strict regulatory standards. By embedding compliance and sustainability into the product architecture, ex9 turns regulation into competitive advantage.
Rocket Up’s influence extended beyond strategy and pitch refinement.
“It’s not only about the great content. It’s about gaining confidence, and about seeing other founders going through similar struggles and realising you’re not alone.”
That confidence now fuels ex9’s next phase: preparing a new fundraising round, expanding into the UK and gradually exploring opportunities in Europe and the United States in a measured and deliberate way.
Through ex9, Ksenia is not only automating yards. She is redefining what leadership in European logistics looks like.
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