TuSimple completed its transition from autonomous trucking to AI animation and rebranding gaming. The company is henceforth called CreateAI.
Hi Brand It comes like TuSimple. There was an argument. The transfer is to fund the new venture, which the company initially announced in August plans to move its remaining US assets to China.
TuSimple delisted from the stock market in January 2024, three years after raising $1.35 billion in its IPO. The company originally planned to restart operations in China, but TuSimple parted ways with most of its autonomous drivers earlier this year. They soon started hiring for AI animation and gaming roles.
Shareholders objected to the business spin-off, and TuSimple's other co-founder; Producer and director Mo Chen was accused of self-dealing.
Chen has ties to other animation and game companies. Chen's other ventures appear to be his new venture TuSimple/CreateAI. Recently FolTuSimple said the board approved a $25 million deal in November with two game development companies affiliated with Chen to produce and distribute “Heroes of Jin Yong,” a role-playing video game. To reduce potential conflicts of interest, in May 2024, Chen transferred her ownership interests in those companies to a trust she did not control, the trust's beneficiaries were her family members, according to the complaint.
CreateAI does not have an active AV development program. But in September, TuSimple CEO Cheng Lu told TechCrunch that the company still intended to license its self-driving technology to partners in China. CreateAI's business plan released Wednesday also refers to plans to monetize existing autonomous driving IP.
Some shareholders, particularly co-founder and former CEO Xiaodi Hou, want to prevent the company from relocating to China, the company's remaining cash holdings of $450 million in September.
Hou earlier this week He asked shareholders to overturn the board of directors, liquidate the company, and replace it with a board that would return all existing cash to stockholders.
CreateAI's plan for that capital is becoming clearer. Along with its brand, CreateAI announced the debut of its first “image-to-video” AI model named “Ruyi” available as open source on Hugging Face. Ruyi was partially developed in six months by applying the company's technological know-how to autonomous driving skills, the company said in a statement. CreateAI said its model also lays the foundation for proprietary AI tools and infrastructure for video game and anime content development.
“We believe our integrated approach at the intersection of next-generation AI and digital entertainment creation is a differentiator that offers significant long-term growth opportunities,” Lu said in a statement.
CreateAI, which is also working with Japanese anime designer Shōji Kawamori to bring the “Father of Macross” to life through animation and video games, has revealed its story. Long-term business strategy For the next generation of AI animation and gaming.
TechCrunch has an AI-focused newsletter. Register here. Get it in your inbox every Wednesday.