Volkswagen’s Traton partners with TuSimple for autonomous trucks

Volkswagen’s Traton commercial truck unit and self-driving technology startup TuSimple are going to partner for developing self-driving trucks, the companies said on Wednesday.

Traton has also grabbed a minority stake in TuSimple, a San Diego, California-based self-driving technology company focused on heavy-duty trucks, as part of the deal.

TuSimple is a self-driving technology company that works on heavy-duty trucks to operate autonomously on highways and surface streets.

Founded in 2015, the company has global headquarters located in San Diego, and it also operates in Tucson, Shanghai, and Beijing. The company is backed by investors such as UPS, NVIDIA, and SINA Corporation among others.

TuSimple describes itself as the world’s largest and most advanced self-driving truck company.