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

(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's commercial trucking unit, TRATON SE, and United Parcel Service Inc, 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, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan were the lead underwriters for the offering.

(Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)