US-based autonomous truck developer TuSimple has raised $350m from investors including corporates Goodyear, Union Pacific, CN Rail, US Xpress, Kroger, The Traton Group and Navistar, sources familiar with the deal told TechCrunch yesterday.
The round was led by VectoIQ, the mobility-focused investment firm launched by Steve Girsky, a former vice-chairman of automotive manufacturer General Motors.
Tire producer Goodyear, rail operators Union Pacific and CN, shipping firm US Xpress and retailer Kroger were joined by Traton, a commercial vehicle subsidiary of carmaker Volkswagen, and Navistar, the diesel vehicle producer being acquired by Traton.
TuSimple is working on self-driving trucks that will be used as the basis of an automated freight delivery network that will also incorporate upgraded freight terminals and advanced mapping technology.
Automotive component manufacturer Mando invested $120m in the company in September 2019 to take its series D round to $215m and its overall funding to $298m since being founded in China in 2015.
UPS Ventures, the investment arm of logistics group UPS, also participated in the round, which valued TuSimple at $1bn pre-money, as did internet company Sina, CDH Investments and Composite Capital Management.
Sina had already joined graphics processing chipmaker Nvidia’s corporate venturing unit, Nvidia GPU Ventures, in TuSimple’s $20m series B round in August 2017, and returned three months later for a $55m series C led by Fuhe Capital and backed by Zhiping Capital.
Photo courtesy of TuSimple, Inc.
