Autonomous truck company TuSimple has announced its transformation and officially rebranded as CreateAI, shifting its focus to the field of generative artificial intelligence, covering animation and game development. This rebranding marks TuSimple's departure from the autonomous trucking business and its entry into a new arena.
TuSimple's transformation comes at a time of turmoil for the company. Previously, the company exited the stock market in January 2024 and closed its autonomous truck operations in the United States, transferring remaining assets to China to fund the new business.
Despite shareholder opposition, the company's board approved a $25 million deal in November to collaborate with two game development companies associated with co-founder Chen Mo, planning to develop the role-playing game "The Legend of the Condor Heroes." To avoid potential conflicts of interest, Chen Mo has transferred ownership of his companies to an entity controlled by a family trust, but this has not quelled external skepticism.
Although it has abandoned its core autonomous driving business, CreateAI has not completely detached from its technological roots. The company has launched its first generative AI model "Ruyi," leveraging the technical know-how accumulated in the autonomous driving field. The "Ruyi" model focuses on image-to-video generation and has been released as open-source on the Hugging Face platform. Additionally, the company is dedicated to developing AI tools and infrastructure for video games and anime content, aiming to carve out new opportunities in the digital entertainment sector.
The company's future strategy also includes collaboration with renowned Japanese designer Shoji Kawamori to develop animated films and games centered around "Macross." CreateAI stated that this partnership reflects the synergy between its generative AI and digital entertainment. Lu Qi noted that the cross-application of generative AI and digital creation will bring long-term growth opportunities for CreateAI.
Meanwhile, the transformation plan has sparked internal controversies. Former CEO Hou Xiaodi opposed the transfer of $450 million in cash assets to China, calling for shareholders to unite to overturn the current board and establish a liquidation company to return funds to shareholders. However, the company remains committed to its plan, licensing its autonomous driving technology to Chinese partners while exploring new pathways for monetizing autonomous driving intellectual property.
From a pioneer in autonomous driving to an innovator in generative AI, whether CreateAI's bold transformation can unlock new growth opportunities remains to be seen.