TuSimple Holdings Inc., a San Diego-based autonomous driving technology company, will reduce its workforce in the United States by 30% as it undergoes a restructuring to preserve its balance sheet amid a funding crunch in the sector. The company also announced that it is no longer looking for strategic alternatives for its Asia Pacific business, retracting plans announced in March last year. The restructuring is expected to cost the company between $12 million and $13 million and will only affect its US employees. The move comes after the company received a delisting notice from Nasdaq for not filing its quarterly report on time. TuSimple said that it would retain its level 4 technology development capabilities and focus on autonomous freight transportation technology.
Industry executives and investors have expressed concern about the amount of funding being poured into the self-driving technology sector at a time when capital is tight. TuSimple’s move follows a December announcement that it would cut about 350 jobs. The company’s shares fell by more than 8% in premarket trading.
TuSimple is among several autonomous trucking companies that have been testing their technology on US highways in recent years. The company’s self-driving trucks carry freight between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, and Dallas and Houston, Texas. The company’s autonomous trucks have logged more than 3.8 million miles in testing.
Despite the challenges facing the sector, TuSimple has attracted significant investment. In September last year, the company raised $350 million in a funding round led by Chinese internet giant Sina Corp. Other investors included Hong Kong-based investment firm Composite Capital and US chipmaker Nvidia Corp. The funding brought TuSimple’s valuation to $1.2 billion.
TuSimple was founded in 2015 by a group of engineers from the University of California, San Diego. The company’s technology uses cameras, radar, and lidar to navigate its autonomous trucks. The company is aiming to bring its technology to market by 2023.
