TuSimple pivot from self-driving to AI animation is complete with CreateAI rebrand

TuSimple has completed its pivot away from autonomous trucking to AI animation and gaming with a rebrand. The company shall henceforth be known as CreateAI.

The rebrand comes as TuSimple is embroiled in controversy over the company’s plans to move its remaining U.S. assets to China to fund the new business, which it initially announced in August.

TuSimple shut down its U.S. self-driving truck operations and delisted from the stock market in January 2024, three years after raising $1.35 billion in its IPO. The company had originally planned to restart operations in China, but earlier this year, TuSimple parted ways with most of its autonomous driving staff. Shortly after, it started hiring for roles related to AI animation and gaming.

Shareholders have objected to the business pivot and accused Mo Chen, TuSimple’s other co-founder, chief producer, and director, of self-dealing.

Chen owns or has ties to several other animation and gaming companies. And it appears Chen’s other businesses are involved in TuSimple/CreateAI’s new venture. In a recent filing , TuSimple said that the board approved a $25 million deal in November with two game development companies that are affiliated with Chen to develop and distribute “Heroes of Jin Yong,” a role-playing video game. To reduce potential conflicts of interest, in May 2024, Chen transferred his ownership interest in those companies to a trust that he does not control, though the beneficiaries of the trust are members of his family, per the filing.

CreateAI doesn’t have an active AV development program. But in September, TuSimple CEO Cheng Lu told TechCrunch the company still intended to license its self-driving technology to partners in China. CreateAI’s business plan, published Wednesday, also references a plan to monetize existing autonomous driving IP.

Some shareholders, notably co-founder and former CEO Xiaodi Hou, want to prevent the company from moving its remaining cash assets, which were $450 million in September, to China.

Hou earlier this week called on shareholders to help him overturn the board of directors and replace them with a board that would liquidate the company and return all existing cash to stockholders.

CreateAI’s plan for that capital is becoming more clear. Alongside its rebrand, CreateAI has announced the debut of its first major “image-to-video” AI model named “Ruyi,” which is available as open source on Hugging Face. The company said in a statement that it developed Ruyi in under six months in part by leveraging “technological know-how building upon the company’s autonomous driving expertise.” CreateAI says its model also lays the foundation for proprietary AI tools and infrastructure for video game and anime content development.

“We are confident that our integrated approach at the intersection of generative AI and digital entertainment creation is a differentiating factor, one that provides significant long-term growth opportunities,” Lu said in a statement.

CreateAI, which is also working with Japanese anime designer Shōji Kawamori to bring “Father of Macross” to life via animated feature film and video game, also unveiled its long-term business strategy for generative AI animation and gaming.

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