From Autonomous Driving to Generative AI: TuSimple's Transition Amid Internal Conflicts

Troubled autonomous truck company TuSimple Holdings has rebranded itself as CreateAI. This shift marks a departure from its previous focus on self-driving technology, as the company aims to enter the realms of video games and films, largely due to ongoing disputes among its co-founders.

Once regarded as a promising player in the autonomous driving start-up sector, CreateAI announced its new direction on Thursday. The company launched an open-sourced video-generation artificial intelligence (AI) model named Ruyi, signaling its commitment to a fresh path in AI content creation. However, this pivot has been met with challenges, particularly from co-founder and former CEO Hou Xiaodi, who was dismissed by the board in 2022 due to allegations of improper business dealings including potential technology transfers to a Chinese firm associated with fellow co-founder Chen Mo.

Hou has taken legal action against CreateAI, seeking immediate liquidation of the company. He claims that the current management has misused shareholder funds and demands that his prior voting power of 29.7% be restored, which would allow him to block strategic plans at CreateAI's upcoming shareholder meeting. Chen Mo, however, has declined to give up control, and the court's decision is expected in the first quarter of 2025.

CreateAI's new CEO, Lu Cheng, has stated that while the company has faced significant challenges stemming from geopolitical factors, the venture into content creation presents less friction. Lu highlighted that the autonomous driving sector is costly and unlikely to yield profit in the near future. In contrast, he believes that AI-generated content could help generate substantial revenue by 2025 and lead to profitability in 2026.

Despite this pivot, CreateAI is not entirely abandoning its roots in autonomous driving. Instead of actively operating a large truck fleet or transporting goods, the company is now focusing on finding partners to license its technology as a supplier.

Earlier this year, CreateAI announced its intention to explore generative AI technology, following the popularity gained by platforms such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. The company has ambitious plans to create an animated film and a video game inspired by China’s acclaimed science fiction novel, The Three-Body Problem. Furthermore, it is developing a AAA open-world multiplayer online role-playing game titled Heroes of Jin Yong, based on classic works by the renowned Hong Kong author Louis Cha Leung-yung.

Lu Cheng mentioned that to keep stakeholders informed, the initial previews of the Three-Body Problem feature are expected to be released by mid-2024. The first version of the Heroes of Jin Yong game will be available in 2026, with the complete version set for launch in 2027.

autonomous, driving, AI