Autonomous Driving Startup TuSimple Makes Deal with Foton

On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that TuSimple, an autonomous driving technology startup, is in talks with commercial vehicle maker, Foton, to produce heavy trucks aimed at improving the efficiency of long-distance logistics.

According to informed sources, TuSimple’s automated driving software will be installed on trucks produced by Foton. At present, the two companies are discussing relevant plans.

Foton is a subsidiary of the state-owned Chinese auto group BAIC. The company makes trucks and buses, and has a joint venture with Daimler AG to make heavy tractors.

TuSimple, which is listed on the NASDAQ, and NVIDIA announced on January 5 that they will strengthen their strategic partnership to design and develop the next generation of autonomous domain controllers (ADC) specifically designed for L4 autonomous trucking applications. The product will be equipped with the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin (SoC), the latest generation of NVIDIA’s AI chip in compliance with current vehicle standards.

SEE ALSO: TuSimple, NVIDIA Develop Domain Controller to Scale Up Autonomous Trucking

The technical field of commercial automated driving is becoming more and more crowded. Last month, Inceptio Technology, which researches and develops automated driving systems for trucks, said that its prototype truck with L3-unmanned driving functionality, developed in cooperation with DFCV, has passed a key inspection milestone, paving the way for mass production. Meanwhile, FAW Group is cooperating with Plus, which is headquartered in Silicon Valley, to research and develop an automated driving truck named J7.