# Xiaodi Hou

> Xiaodi Hou is the Houston-based founder and CEO of Bot Auto and a co-founder and former CTO and CEO of TuSimple. Trained in computer vision at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Caltech, he helped lead TuSimple’s autonomous truck development before a disputed departure in 2022–2023. At Bot Auto he operates a fleet selling freight capacity, emphasizing operating economics alongside autonomous driving performance.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Bot Auto
- **Organizations:** Bot Auto, TuSimple, CogTu Technologies
- **From:** Beijing, China
- **Education:** Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ph.D. in Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Co-authored the 2007 CVPR paper Saliency Detection: A Spectral Residual Approach., Completed a 2014 Caltech doctorate on computational modeling and psychophysics in vision., Co-founded TuSimple and led its technology organization during development of its 2021 driver-out truck milestone.

## Career timeline

- **2007** — Co-authored Saliency Detection: A Spectral Residual Approach with Liqing Zhang at CVPR.
- **2008** — Earned a B.E. at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
- **2014** — Completed his Caltech doctorate; founded CogTu, an image-recognition advertising venture, after his doctoral studies.
- **2015** — Co-founded TuSimple with Mo Chen and served as CTO.
- **2021** — TuSimple went public in April and completed an approximately 80-mile driver-out test in Arizona in December.
- **2022** — Appointed TuSimple president, CEO and chairman on March 3; removed from his executive roles on October 31.
- **2023** — Resigned from the TuSimple board in March; founded Bot Auto.
- **2024** — Bot Auto publicly launched in September with $20 million in pre-Series A funding.
- **2026** — Bot Auto reported an April 29 commercial humanless truckload between Houston and Hutchins; announced a Lenovo AD1 production computing platform in October.

## Achievements

- Co-authored the 2007 CVPR paper Saliency Detection: A Spectral Residual Approach.
- Completed a 2014 Caltech doctorate on computational modeling and psychophysics in vision.
- Co-founded TuSimple and led its technology organization during development of its 2021 driver-out truck milestone.
- Founded Bot Auto, which reported a paid approximately 230-mile truckload in April 2026 with no human in the cab or low-latency remote steering.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — On October 13, Bot Auto selected Lenovo AD1 built on NVIDIA Hyperion for production computing, with initial integration planned for Q1 2027. The company reported approximately 350 loads per month across Texas and estimated $50,000 for autonomy computing and sensors per truck. These are company-reported figures and plans; the load count is not identified as entirely humanless.
- **2026-09** — On September 15, the Texas Fifteenth Court of Appeals affirmed denial of CreateAI’s temporary injunction against Bot Auto; this did not finally determine the underlying trade-secret claims.
- **2026-08** — Published Physical AI Follows Aviation’s Flight Plan, discussing safety, economics, regulation and asset financing.
- **2026-04** — Bot Auto reported completing a paid humanless truckload from Houston to Hutchins on April 29, booked through Ryan Transportation.

## Links

- Website: https://bot.auto/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiaodihou

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/xiaodi-hou
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23