What’s new: TuSimple Holdings Inc. is getting into video game and movie production as a way to start making money off its generative artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities as it struggles to commercialize its self-driving trucking tech.
The California-based startup, which has Chinese ties, will work with a Shanghai company to develop an animated film and video game based on the science fiction novel series “The Three-Body Problem,” using its generative AI technology, TuSimple announced in a statement on Wednesday.
The project “provides an exceptional canvas to showcase our emerging generative AI capabilities, which we believe will provide a near-term path to commercialization,” TuSimple CEO and President Lu Cheng said.
The company “has no plans to exit the transportation sector and will continue to monetize its autonomous vehicle technology through technology partnerships and licensing,” Lu added.
The background: Founded in 2015 with operations in both the U.S. and China, TuSimple has been working on Level 4 self-driving technology for long-haul freight trucks, which would enable almost completely autonomous operation under certain conditions.
The company had aimed to expand its autonomous freight network to cover parts of 48 U.S. states by 2024, but last December it said that it would wind down its American operations and focus on the Asian market after multiple rounds of layoffs.
Its struggles have been compounded by a delisting in the U.S., a boardroom fight and concerns over its founders and management’s ties to China at a time of mounting trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
