Parallel

We’re excited to welcome David Kelly as our new Head of Government & Regulatory Affairs at Parallel! David brings more than 30 years of national transportation safety leadership, with a career that spans the National Safety Council, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and serving as the Acting Administrator and Chief of Staff of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA, where he helped shape some of the most important roadway safety policies in the country. He has spent his career proving the impact of strong public–private collaboration, from national seat belt and airbag safety campaigns, to advising federal leaders on emerging transportation technologies, to helping innovative companies navigate U.S. safety and regulatory environments. Most recently, he led U.S. Government Solutions at Acusensus and spent over a decade running Storm King Strategies, where he guided companies at the intersection of safety, automation, and public policy. David’s depth of experience across regulation, enforcement, and public safety gives Parallel a powerful strategic advantage as we bring autonomous, battery-electric rail technology to market. His perspective will be instrumental in shaping how modern freight rail integrates into existing policy frameworks and how we partner with regulators and communities to deploy it safely and responsibly. Outside of work, David is a lifelong baseball fan (Let’s Go Mets!) and proud dad of two grown children. We’re thrilled to have him on board as we continue building the future of freight. Please join us in welcoming David to the team!! #WelcometotheTeam #GovAffairs #NewHireWelcome

Congratulations to Administrator Fink on his confirmation as the 16th Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. His commitment to advancing rail safety, modernizing infrastructure, and bringing new technology into the rail ecosystem aligns closely with the future we're building at Parallel. Innovation in this industry only works when it's paired with thoughtful regulatory leadership, and we're excited to see an FRA Administrator who understands both the operational realities of railroads and the opportunities ahead. We look forward to continued partnership with the FRA, supporting initiatives that improve safety, expand rail capacity, and bring next-generation freight movement to communities across the country. Welcome, Administrator Fink!

Great coverage of the progress we’re making at Parallel. Matt Soule captured it well: we’re pushing toward full commercialization of autonomous battery-electric rail and redefining what point-to-point rail freight can look like. Big things ahead. Check out the full article from Benzinga here: https://lnkd.in/gxH9RTrj

filtra.io recently interviewed our engineering director, Thomas Praderio, and there’s a moment in that conversation that captures the heart of what it feels like to build at Parallel. Tom describes our team as a kind of pirate ship - a small, motley crew of motivated engineers who pull together to make big, ambitious things happen. Whether it’s hardware or software, we’re constantly figuring out how to pull rabbits out of hats, stay resourceful, and have a lot of fun doing it. We stay lean on purpose. We’re not scaling into a huge org with layers of process. The people who thrive here are the ones who get energized by doing a lot with a little, who care about the environmental impact of what they’re building, and who want to work with a tight crew that’s genuinely pushing the future of rail forward. If that sounds like your kind of engineering environment, check out our open roles here: https://lnkd.in/gtRj4h8Z

We’re excited to welcome two incredible new team members to Parallel Systems! Fraser Kinnear joins us as Senior Director of Finance & Accounting, bringing deep experience from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Relativity Space, SpaceX, and ZestFinance. He started his career at KPMG advising large-scale infrastructure projects and private equity transactions, and holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Accountancy and Finance from the University of Illinois. For over a decade, Fraser has helped people build rockets and fusion reactors - now he’s channeling that same energy into making freight shipping cleaner, safer, and more efficient. Jorge Guerra joins us as a Senior Embedded Software Engineer, with more than ten years of experience in embedded systems, robotics, and automation. He’s led software and controls development at Zume Inc. and Barry-Wehmiller Design Group, and most recently served as Co-Founder and CTO at Caldo Restaurant Technologies, where he built robotics and AI platforms to drive automation and data insights. Jorge is passionate about electrification, autonomy, and engineering that makes the world more efficient - and outside of work, he enjoys cooking, music, and spending time with family and friends. Please join us in welcoming Fraser and Jorge to Parallel as we build the future of freight! #ParallelSystems #CleanTech #Autonomy #AI #Finance #Engineering #TransportationInnovation

“We are a full Rust shop. Our product software is all in Rust. From the firmware running on bare metal devices through the vehicle software running on our custom Linux distribution... all the way up to our web software stack running on cloud servers." - Thomas Praderio of Parallel Find the interview here: https://lnkd.in/gSpVtAcw

🚆 “Easier, faster, cleaner, safer.” That’s how our Director of Engineering, Thomas Praderio, describes the vision behind what we’re building at Parallel Systems - autonomous, battery-electric rail vehicles that combine the efficiency of rail with the flexibility of trucking, all while using the infrastructure that already exists. In his conversation with filtra.io, Tom dives into how our team is rethinking freight from the ground up - bringing autonomy, software, and sustainability together to transform the way goods move. Check out the full interview here:https://lnkd.in/gSpVtAcw #FutureOfFreight #AutonomousRail #CleanTech #BatteryElectric #Engineering #ParallelSystems #Sustainability #RailInnovation

Pretty fun weekend surprise! Collaborative Fund portfolio company Parallel landed on the front page of the Los Angeles Times Business section! I’ve always loved trains. They’re the quiet heroes that keep America moving -- carrying food, cars, toys, and everything else across the country. So seeing this story about a team of former 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐗, 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐥𝐚, and 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐧 engineers reinventing the freight train feels a little magical. Parallel Systems is building small, electric trains that can drive themselves. They run on batteries, move super quietly, and talk to each other so they stay perfectly in sync while they carry huge containers. It’s a simple idea: make rail freight flexible enough to compete with trucks. If they succeed, it could unclog ports, reduce emissions, and give the country’s logistics network a big upgrade. I like ideas that seem small but contain a big shift in assumption. The assumption here is that progress only happens in new domains. But sometimes the things most ready for reinvention are the ones sitting in plain sight. Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Abe Yokell, Sophie Bakalar, Matt Soule

Parallel Systems was launched in 2020 with a mission to deliver a safer, more efficient and lower cost alternative to trucking. For those who have been following our progress, 2025 has been the most important growth year for our company so far. Following regulatory approval from the FRA, we've been operating our pilot in Georgia with Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and we are on our way toward the full commercialization of Parallel Systems.    With this as a backdrop, we are pleased to share this article from yesterday's Los Angeles Times that profiles Parallel, shows our product and some of the great people who are part of our team.   Thank you to Caroline Petrow-Cohen for your reporting. And thank you to our investors, employees, business partners and regulatory authorities for helping us bring our vision to life.   Much more to come...   https://lnkd.in/gTQsn4aA  

We appreciate the shoutout from North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) spotlighting our work to modernize freight rail! At Parallel Systems, we’re developing a battery-electric, autonomous rail vehicle that operates without a traditional locomotive, enabling flexible platoons that move freight faster, cleaner, and more efficiently. This technology is helping redefine what’s possible for sustainable logistics and the future of rail. Check out NJTPA’s feature below to see our vehicles in action. #FutureOfFreight #Sustainability #Innovation #AutonomousRail #BatteryElectric #ParallelSystems