TuSimple, one of the pioneers in developing autonomous trucks, is now looking for potential buyers for its U.S. business – but wants to keep operations in the Asia-Pacific region and other global markets.
Perella Weinberg Partners has been engaged as a financial advisor as the business explores “strategic alternatives for the U.S. business, including a possible sale,” the company has announced in a press release.
“No assurances can be given that TuSimple’s exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any change in strategy or a transaction,” it added. “The decision to explore strategic alternatives for the U.S. business was guided by the company’s review of multiple business factors and commercial opportunities.”
No further comment is being offered until the board approves a specific transaction or alternative.
TuSimple was established in 2015, developing Level 4 autonomous driving technology, and has achieved several benchmarks. It was the first company to complete operations on public roads without drivers in cabs.
Successful tests and struggles
Most recently, it demonstrated an autonomous semi on public roads in Shanghai, China. And it had also completed a driverless 130-km trip between an Arizona distribution center and rail yard. Tests of its Level 4 autonomous trucks have also begun on a Japanese freight corridor.
But there have been struggles as well. A TuSimple truck collided with a concrete median in Tucson, Arizona in April 2022, although the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) didn’t issue any related penalties.
Navistar, which was working with TuSimple, shelved co-development plans later that year, but said the companies could work together in the future.
The two companies had agreed in 2020 to work together in developing an autonomous truck by 2024.
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