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Xiaodi Hou , the co - founder and former chief executive officer of ego - aim trucking startup TuSimple , has urged a California district court to emerge a temporary restraining order to stop over the company from transferring its remaining U.S. asset to China , concord to a recent homage filing .
Hou , who plans to apply for a temporary restraining order in December during the next scheduled homage earreach , is hoping to keep TuSimple from move tens of millions of dollars in John Cash to China . As of September , TuSimple had roughly $ 450 million in cap . Hou is also requesting hasten discovery of grounds to aid his requests for the motion .
Hou ’s declaration to the motor inn , filed on Monday , is the latest escalation in thebattle between TuSimple and some of its shareholders , over the caller ’s attempts to use investor capital to fund a new AI - generated animation and picture game business in China . This is the first prison term Hou — who wasousted from his roleas CEO in 2022 — has publicly accuse TuSimple and its leaders of funnel assets toward vivification and gaming businesses owned by or with verbatim ties to Mo Chen , TuSimple co - founder and chairman of the instrument panel , under the pretense of a business pivot . Hou also argued the company violated SEC regulation by neither informing nor gaining approval from shareholders before changing its business counsel or transferring funds to China .
Hou now lead Bot Auto , anew autonomous hauling startupin Texas
TuSimple , once valued at $ 8.5 billion after its2021 IPO , face up setbacks that led to its U.S.shutdownand delist in January 2024 . The company ’s stated goal was to commercialize its AV engineering in China . But as the year come along , TuSimple lather its men , lay off ego - drive mathematical operation , and start out hiring staff to plow jobs related to AI gaming and aliveness .
Shareholders send a letter to the board in August after learning TuSimple was putting resources toward AI gaming and animation . The board responded a couple weeks later by publicly announce the raw business social unit .
Hou this calendar week urged the Margaret Court to issue a temporary restraining order after observe a filing by TuSimple China that signaled the company was about to transfer money ( or already had ) out of the United States . Two TuSimple China foot soldier last week registered an increase in assets collectively worth $ 150 million , according to Hou ’s announcement and selective information from public filings .
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“ These filings show a shady step-up in register asset between these two subsidiaries in one Clarence Day as a precursor to large amount of hard cash transfer from U.S. to China , ” understand the resolve . “ The most likely scenario is that these filings in China were the preparatory steps before TuSimple U.S. transfers money to those subsidiaries in China . ”
Hou added that such large cash transfer of training are “ beyond normal course of business ” and comparable to “ TuSimple China ’s flower of surgical operation when it was operating a large self-directed motortruck fleet in Shanghai ” and had around 700 employee on its paysheet . As of September , TuSimple China had around 200 employee .
The window of opportunity for shareholders like Hou to get what they require — which is for TuSimple to liquidate so they can convalesce some of their exit — is narrowing .
TuSimple is in a gray area when it arrive to enforcement from the Securities and Exchange Commission . While TuSimple delisted before this year , the company is still register with the SEC and thus subject to U.S. scrutiny . Once the money goes to China , shareholders in the U.S. will have no refuge to claw back funds from their original investment .
TechCrunch has reached out to the SEC to acquire if the agency is investigating TuSimple in sexual congress to stockholder complaints .
Cheng Lu , CEO of TuSimple , did n’t answer to TechCrunch ’s asking for clarification regarding the potential transference of roughly $ 150 million from the U.S. to China . The executive say TechCrunch that Hou ’s restraining order request is a “ do-or-die revenge ” against TuSimple ’s current litigation against Bot Auto . In October , TuSimple filed wooing against Bot Auto , allege swop secrets misapplication .
“ The reality is [ Xiaodi Hou ] is a disgraced CEO that has been trying to break up the party from move forward for the past two years ago , and attempt heavily to bankrupt the company so that he can get away with steal our trade secrets to initiate a compete business , ” Lu told TechCrunch .
TuSimple had quest its own temporary cease and desist order and restrain order against Bot Auto , and a hearing is schedule for December .
This story was update to include input from TuSimpleand to clarify that a judge has yet to rule on a proposed order .
