TuSimple raises over $1 billion in U.S. IPO at nearly $8.5 billion valuation By Reuters

(Reuters) – TuSimple Holdings Inc said on Thursday it had raised more than $1 billion through an initial public offering (IPO), valuing the self-driving truck startup at nearly $8.5 billion.

The San Diego, California-based company sold around 27 million shares in its IPO, while some stockholders sold about 6.8 million shares priced at $40 apiece.

Backed by Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p)’s commercial trucking unit, TRATON SE, and United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE:UPS), TuSimple is developing self-driving trucks with Navistar International Corp whose production is slated to start in 2024.

The company is the latest player in the self-driving technology and manufacturing market to take the public market route after a string of lidar sensor manufacturers, including Luminar Technologies Inc and Velodyne Lidar Inc, went public through mergers with blank-check firms last year.

TuSimple’s share are set to debut on the Nasdaq later in the day, under the ticker symbol “TSP”.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Citigroup (NYSE:C) and J.P. Morgan were the lead underwriters for the offering.