TuSimple Rebrands as CreateAI: A Pivot from Autonomous Trucking to AI-Powered Gaming and Animation

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

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 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.

Self-driving truck startup TuSimple rebrands as CreateAI, shifts to gaming tech

BEIJING, Dec 19 (Reuters) - TuSimple Holdings (TSPH.PK), opens new tab said on Thursday it would rebrand as CreateAI and pivot from autonomous trucking to AI gaming technology, marking an attempt by the once-prominent self-driving truck startup to make a comeback. CEO Cheng Lu told Reuters in an interview that the move into gaming and animation technology represented a natural evolution of the company's capabilities, though the transition comes after two years of setbacks and regulatory challenges. Founded in 2015, TuSimple attracted investments from Chinese internet giant Sina Corp and global heavyweights such as Nvidia, Volkswagen and UPS. But the self-driving truck developer's fortunes reversed in 2022 when U.S. regulators began probing its Chinese connections, triggering boardroom disputes. Early this year, the company said it had decided to delist from Nasdaq, fewer than three years after raising $1.35 billion in an April 2021 initial public offering. Lu said management had in March proposed the AI gaming pivot to the board, which approved the strategic shift. The company cited third-party reports valuing the global gaming market at $200 billion in 2023, according to a business plan document sent to Reuters. The rebranded CreateAI will focus on video game and anime production and publishing, leveraging its newly developed image-to-video AI model, Ruyi, for content development, the business plan document shows. The company has 270 employees globally, including research and content production teams across China, Japan and the United States. Reporting by Liam Mo and Brenda Goh. Editing by Mark Potter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial IntelligenceADAS, AV & SafetySoftware-Defined Vehicle

Self-driving truck startup TuSimple rebrands as CreateAI, shifts to gaming tech

BEIJING (Reuters) - TuSimple Holdings said on Thursday it would rebrand as CreateAI and pivot from autonomous trucking to AI gaming technology, marking an attempt by the once-prominent self-driving truck startup to make a comeback. CEO Cheng Lu told Reuters in an interview that the move into gaming and animation technology represented a natural evolution of the company's capabilities, though the transition comes after two years of setbacks and regulatory challenges. Founded in 2015, TuSimple attracted investments from Chinese internet giant Sina Corp and global heavyweights such as Nvidia, Volkswagen and UPS. But the self-driving truck developer's fortunes reversed in 2022 when U.S. regulators began probing its Chinese connections, triggering boardroom disputes. Early this year, the company said it had decided to delist from Nasdaq, fewer than three years after raising $1.35 billion in an April 2021 initial public offering. Lu said management had in March proposed the AI gaming pivot to the board, which approved the strategic shift. The company cited third-party reports valuing the global gaming market at $200 billion in 2023, according to a business plan document sent to Reuters. The rebranded CreateAI will focus on video game and anime production and publishing, leveraging its newly developed image-to-video AI model, Ruyi, for content development, the business plan document shows. The company has 270 employees globally, including research and content production teams across China, Japan and the United States. (Reporting by Liam Mo and Brenda Goh. Editing by Mark Potter)

Nvidia Partner TuSimple Rebrands As CreateAI Shifts Focus From Autonomous Driving To AI-Powered Gaming And Content - NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Autonomous driving technology company TuSimple Holdings Inc. TSPH has rebranded as CreateAI, marking its strategic shift toward gaming and animation powered by artificial intelligence. The company, which has partnered with Nvidia Corp. NVDA for self-driving technology, announced the transformation on Wednesday. CreateAI unveiled "Ruyi," an open-source AI model for digital content creation, building on its autonomous driving expertise. The company is developing a major role-playing game based on Louis Cha's martial arts novels and an adaptation of "The Three-Body Problem" in collaboration with "Macross" creator Shōji Kawamori. "Our integrated approach at the intersection of generative AI and digital entertainment creation is a differentiating factor," said CEO Cheng Lu. The San Diego-based company maintains offices in China and Japan, with its focus on gaming and animation markets. Read Next: Powell Triggers Market Carnage: VIX Spikes 58%, Stocks Plummet, Dollar Hits 2-Year Highs, Bitcoin Nosedives Image Via Shutterstock Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

TuSimple Announces Rebranding to "CreateAI" and Unveils Major Advances in Generative AI - TuSimple Hldgs (OTC:TSPH)

SAN DIEGO and BEIJING, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- TuSimple Holdings Inc. TSPH ("TuSimple" or the "Company"), a global leader in artificial intelligence technology, today announced its official rebranding to CreateAI and major advancements in its new strategic initiatives. The rebranding reflects CreateAI's renewed focus on transforming animation and video game industries through proprietary AI technologies and its integrated content development platform. CreateAI showed significant progress in generative AI research with the debut of its first major AI model, named "Ruyi". The model, available open source on AI community "Hugging Face", excels in frame consistency, motion fluency, color and composition quality. The decision to adopt an open-source model stems from CreateAI's commitment to empower creators and foster a vibrant user ecosystem. The model, developed in under six months, leverages technological know-how building upon the Company's autonomous driving expertise. It also lays the foundation for proprietary AI tools and infrastructure specifically created for video game and anime content development. The Company has advanced rapidly since its entry into the digital entertainment content industry in August 2024. CreateAI announced the development of a "AAA" Open-World Role-Playing Game (RPG) based on the legendary Louis Cha intellectual property (IP) "Heroes of Jin Yong". The game represents a significant evolution from previous adaptations of Louis Cha's IP as it integrates characters and narratives from all of his influential literary works. This marks the unveiling of a cohesive world of heroes, moving beyond individual stories, and serving as a starting point for the creation of new original martial arts works. A preview event took place on December 14 in Guangzhou, China, garnering strong interest from fans and cementing its place as one of the most anticipated "AAA" games to be released. "We are proud of the achievements we've made in the short amount of time since entering into the field," said Cheng Lu, President and CEO of CreateAI. "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." CreateAI has continued to advance its previously announced project related to the acclaimed "The Three-Body Problem", partnering with the Japanese anime designer Shōji Kawamori, the "Father of Macross", to ultimately bring this vast fantasy world to life through unprecedented visual and narrative depth via an animated feature film and video game. Additionally, CreateAI has unveiled its latest business plan, showcasing the immense commercial value derived from today's transformation and the industry's total addressable market. The plan also outlines the historical industry challenges addressed by the company, technology milestones, commercialization pathways, and cohesive management team. It also emphasizes how the Company's integrated strategy forms a flywheel effect in AI development, ultimately leading to long-term sustainable competitive advantage. About CreateAI CreateAI (formerly TuSimple) is a global artificial intelligence company with offices in US, China, and Japan. The company is pioneering the future of digital entertainment content production, seamlessly blending cutting-edge generative AI technology with the creativity of world-class talent. Our mission is to redefine the boundaries of what's possible in digital storytelling by developing immersive, captivating, and visually stunning experiences that resonate with audiences on a global scale. CreateAI Media Contact: Brad Burgess ICR, LLC Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tusimple-announces-rebranding-to-createai-and-unveils-major-advances-in-generative-ai-302335074.html SOURCE CreateAI Holdings Inc Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs