TuSimple, the company once known for its ambitious autonomous trucking projects, has officially transitioned to AI animation and gaming under its new name, CreateAI. This rebrand caps a significant pivot away from its original focus on self-driving technology, marking a dramatic shift in its business direction.
The rebrand follows a series of controversial moves, including plans to transfer its remaining U.S. assets to China to fund the new venture, first announced in August. TuSimple had previously ceased U.S. self-driving truck operations and delisted from the stock market in January 2024, three years after a $1.35 billion IPO. While the company initially planned to restart operations in China, it began hiring for AI animation and gaming roles earlier this year after parting ways with most of its autonomous driving staff.
Shareholder Discontent and Leadership Scrutiny
The pivot hasn’t been without backlash. Shareholders, including co-founder and former CEO Xiaodi Hou, have criticized the move. They accused co-founder and director Mo Chen of self-dealing, citing his ties to other animation and gaming companies now involved in CreateAI’s operations.
One recent example of this conflict emerged in a November filing where TuSimple disclosed a $25 million deal with two gaming companies affiliated with Chen to develop and distribute the role-playing game Heroes of Jin Yong. Chen attempted to address concerns about conflicts of interest by transferring his ownership in these companies to a family-beneficiary trust in May 2024, although some shareholders remain unconvinced.
Hou has called for the board of directors to be replaced, advocating for the company’s liquidation to return its remaining $450 million in cash assets to stockholders.
New Ventures and AI Model Launch
Despite the controversies, CreateAI has outlined its vision for the future. The company debuted an open-source “image-to-video” AI model called Ruyi on Hugging Face. Developed within six months, Ruyi builds on the company’s autonomous driving expertise to create tools for video game and anime content development. CEO Cheng Lu described the approach as integrating generative AI with digital entertainment for long-term growth.
CreateAI’s ambitions also include a collaboration with Japanese anime designer Shōji Kawamori to adapt Father of Macross into an animated feature film and video game. The company says it will continue to monetize its existing autonomous driving intellectual property while focusing on generative AI innovation in gaming and animation.
As CreateAI charts this new course, it remains to be seen how the company will navigate its financial and shareholder challenges while aiming for a future in AI-driven entertainment.
