Self-driving truck startup TuSimple has fired its CEO, Xiaodi Hou, after an internal investigation found improper dealings and possible tech transfer to a Chinese firm led by TuSimple’s now-departed co-founder, the company said Monday.
The San Diego-based startup’s operations chief, Ersin Yumer, will serve as interim CEO and president while TuSimple’s board of directors searches for a permanent successor. Hou was also the company’s chief technology officer.
Shares of TuSimple were down more than 40% in early trading following the news.
TuSimple said in a regulatory filing Monday that based on an investigation by its board of directors, it believes some of its employees spent paid hours in 2021 working for Hydron, a Chinese startup developing autonomous hydrogen-powered trucks. Those employees shared confidential information with Hydron before a nondisclosure agreement was signed, TuSimple said.
The board’s investigation began in July and is ongoing, the company said.
The company’s relationship to Hydron is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a report Monday by The Wall Street Journal. Investigators are examining whether TuSimple’s leadership failed to make required disclosures about its transactions with Hydron and whether the dealings harmed TuSimple investors, according to the report.
TuSimple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the report of federal probes.
Hydron was founded in 2021 by Mo Chen, a co-founder of TuSimple who had previously served as its executive chairman. Hydron initially announced plans to build electric trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells in North America, but its operations have so far been mostly in China.