Bot Auto and the return of Xiaodi Hou to autonomous trucking [Video]

Xiaodi Hou was cast mostly as a megalomaniacal villain in the slide of TuSimple from autonomous trucking leader to obscurity. The decline worsened after he took over the company he co-founded in September 2015. Ultimately, a suitable-for-TV boardroom drama led to his ouster.

To Hou’s telling, that is not the whole story. Now, as he launches another driverless trucking startup, Hou expresses a mix of victimhood, remorse and regret.

With a $20 million pre-Series A investment, Bot Auto emerged from stealth last week, describing itself as an AI-based autonomous trucking transportation service. This contrasts from the popular business model where fleets purchase for their own trucks built with autonomous software and hardware.  

Initially, Bot is testing a single truck with a version of end-to-end AI software from its base in Houston to San Antonio, about 200 miles. Hou acknowledges the value proposition of long-haul autonomous trucking. Removing the driver and many of the operating costs of …