(Reuters) -Self-driving truck startup TuSimple Holdings Inc said on Wednesday it was targeting a valuation of more than $8 billion in its U.S. initial public offering (IPO).
TuSimple is the third company to announce plans to raise more than a billion dollars through share sales on Wednesday, as companies continue to tap into the red-hot U.S. IPO market.
The company said it aims to raise about $1.3 billion by selling about 34 million shares between $35 and $39 apiece.
Many startups, automakers and large technology companies, including Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s Waymo and China-based Xpeng Inc, are accelerating work on their self-driving technology that is expected to bring a sea change in the transportation industry.
The San Diego, California-based company, backed by Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p)'s commercial trucking unit TRATON SE and United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE:UPS), is developing self-driving trucks with Navistar (NYSE:NAV) International Corp that are slated to start production in 2024.
The company said its technology will cut labour costs and reduce accidents.
TuSimple launched a self-driving freight network partnership with UPS and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc's supply chain unit, McLane, in July that it said should be operational nationwide by 2024.
In its filing last month, TuSimple said a 2017 investment from Sun Dream Inc, an affiliate of Chinese technology firm Sina (NASDAQ:SINA) Corp, was being probed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
TuSimple will list on Nasdaq under the symbol "TSP".
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Citigroup (NYSE:C) and J.P. Morgan are among the underwriters for the offering.