Self-driving truck developer TuSimple is suspending its business in the US and shifting its focus to the Asia Pacific markets, especially China, Japan, and Australia, hoping to commercialize and profit from its autonomous driving technologies. Chief executive Lu Cheng cited a mature local supply chain and strong regulatory support as reasons. Another executive told 36Kr on Monday that its China operation, with a team of 600 people, has secured two pilot deals for developing assisted driving software. These remarks were made two days after TuSimple, a San Diego, California-based startup with a Chinese background, said on Jan. 17 that it would delist from Nasdaq, probably on Feb. 7, following an announcement last month to cut 75% of its employees in the US. The retreat from the US is a fallout of a government investigation initiated by the US Committee on Foreign Investment in late 2022 about whether the company shared intellectual properties developed in the US with a Chinese company. TuSimple shares closed at $0.44 on Monday, compared with its debut price of $40.[South China Morning Post, 36Kr, in Chinese]
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