TuSimple (Nasdaq: TSP) today announced that the Board of Directors of the Company has terminated Dr. Xiaodi Hou, the Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Technology Officer of the Company, and removed Dr. Hou from his position as Chairman of the Board and as a member of the Government Security Committee, effective as of October 30, 2022.
The Company announced that Dr. Ersin Yumer, TuSimple's Executive Vice President of Operations, has agreed to serve as interim Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company during the pendency of the executive search. Brad Buss, our Lead Independent Director, will be Chairman of the Board. The Board is also actively engaged in the search to add new independent members to the Board.
Investigators at the FBI and SEC are looking at whether Mr. Hou breached fiduciary duties and securities laws by failing to properly disclose TuSimple’s relationship with Hydron, the China-backed startup founded in 2021 by TuSimple co-founder Mo Chen that says it is developing autonomous hydrogen-powered trucks, the Journal reported. Federal investigators are also probing whether TuSimple shared with Hydron intellectual property developed in the U.S. and whether that action defrauded TuSimple investors by sending valuable technology to an overseas adversary.
Earnings Release Accelerated
TuSimple will release its third quarter 2022 financial results on Monday October 31, 2022, after the market closes. TuSimple remains on track to achieve its full year 2022 financial guidance as previously disclosed on August 2, 2022, including the ending cash balance at December 31, 2022 of approximately $950 million.
Mr. Hou’s dismissal follows months of upheaval at the company, including the departures of its chief financial officer and chief legal officer and a sharp drop in its stock price. Much of the turmoil began when Mr. Hou took over as CEO in March, said former employees.
In April, one of TuSimple’s autonomous semi trucks crashed on an Arizona freeway. The accident revealed safety and security problems at TuSimple that former employees said leadership had dismissed, the Journal reported in August.
About Dr. Ersin Yumer
Dr. Ersin Yumer most recently served as the Executive Vice President for Operations at TuSimple. He has held leadership roles at TuSimple on the Algorithm and Machine Learning teams, which gives him unique insight into the operational needs associated with commercializing TuSimple's Driver Out Autonomous Freight Network. Dr. Yumer is an internationally recognized expert in scalable machine learning, 3D computer vision, and simulation. He is a veteran in the autonomous vehicles industry, having held previous leadership roles at Aurora, Uber, and Argo AI. In the field of machine learning and computer vision, Dr. Yumer has published numerous peer-reviewed technical publications and patents. He has a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University and has worked on cutting-edge 3D computer vision applications at Adobe and Google earlier in his career.
About TuSimple
TuSimple is a global autonomous driving technology company headquartered in San Diego, California, with operations in Arizona, Texas, Europe, and China. Founded in 2015, TuSimple is developing a commercial-ready, fully autonomous (SAE Level 4) driving solution for long-haul heavy-duty trucks. TuSimple aims to transform the $4 trillion global truck freight industry through the company's leading AI technology, which makes it possible for trucks to see 1,000 meters away, operate nearly continuously, and reduce fuel consumption by 10%+ relative to manually driven trucks. Visit us at www.tusimple.com.
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