TuSimple Holdings stated on Thursday it will rebrand as CreateAI and pivot from autonomous trucking to AI gaming know-how, marking an try by the once-prominent self-driving truck startup to make a comeback.
CEO Cheng Lu instructed Reuters in an interview that the transfer into gaming and animation know-how represented a pure evolution of the corporate’s capabilities, although the transition comes after two years of setbacks and regulatory challenges.
Based in 2015, TuSimple attracted investments from Chinese language web large Sina Corp and world heavyweights corresponding to Nvidia, Volkswagen and UPS. However the self-driving truck developer’s fortunes reversed in 2022 when U.S. regulators started probing its Chinese language connections, triggering boardroom disputes.
Early this yr, the corporate stated it had determined to delist from Nasdaq, fewer than three years after elevating USD 1.35 billion in an April 2021 preliminary public providing.
Lu stated administration had in March proposed the AI gaming pivot to the board, which authorized the strategic shift. The corporate cited third-party reviews valuing the worldwide gaming market at USD 200 billion in 2023, based on a marketing strategy doc despatched to Reuters.
The rebranded CreateAI will concentrate on online game and anime manufacturing and publishing, leveraging its newly developed image-to-video AI mannequin, Ruyi, for content material growth, the marketing strategy doc reveals.
The corporate has 270 workers globally, together with analysis and content material manufacturing groups throughout China, Japan and the US.
