TuSimple raises $95 million, achieves unicorn status

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Autonomous truck startup TuSimple said it has raised 95 million U.S. dollars in a series D funding led by Chinese internet giant Sina Corp. on Wednesday. The funding round gives TuSimple unicorn status which means it has reached a valuation of one billion.

The startup was launched in 2015 and has research and development centers in both China and the U.S.. The fresh fund will be used to scale up the company's commercial autonomous fleet to more than 50 trucks by June.

“After three years of intense focus to reach our technical goals, we have moved beyond research into the serious work of building a commercial solution,” said Xiaodi Hou, TuSimple founder and chief technology officer.

The California-based company currently makes daily deliveries in the U.S. state of Arizona on highways and local streets for 12 customers and plans to expand its operations to New Mexico and Texas. Its level-4 vehicles are able to drive completely autonomously in most, but not all conditions.

TuSimple has been in the testing phase for more than 300 days at a northern China port and will conduct autonomous demonstrating operations in Shanghai Lingang district.

Series D funding round brings the company’s total funding to 178 million dollars. It has a post-funding valuation of 1.095 billion dollars. TuSimple has raised funds from Nvidia and ZP Capital. Sina Corp. is one of TuSimple’s earliest investors. Composite Capital, a Hong Kong-based investment firm and previous investor, also participated in this latest round.

TuSimple is not alone in the push to develop self-driving semis. Embark Trucks, Ike, Starsky Robotics, Thor Trucks and Udelv are also working on autonomous trucks.

(With inputs from Reuters)