Amazon.com Inc. is in talks to acquire Chinese self-driving truck startup TuSimple, according to a Chinese media report Tuesday.

TMPost (Titanium Media), quoting people close to Amazon executives, said the two companies are in negotiations on an acquisition deal.

TuSimple, founded in 2015 with operations in Beijing, San Diego and Tucson, Arizona, is developing artificial intelligence and computer vision technology for self-driving trucks. The startup is a standout not only for developing the technology for self-driving trucks but for already having those trucks on public roads hauling freight.

Described by Business Insider in January as beating Waymo LLC and Tesla Inc. in the autonomous truck market, the company already has 12 contracted customers and is in the process of expanding its on-road fleet to 50 self-driving trucks.

TuSimple gained unicorn status in February when it raised $95 million in a Series D round on a valuation of $1.095 billion. Investors include Nvidia Corp., ZP Capital, Sina and Composite Capital.

Officially, TuSimple has denied the report, with Chief Executive Officer Chen Mo saying that the company is in process of raising a new round of funding and that selling the company is not currently an option.

That Amazon may be interested in buying TuSimple is not in the least bit surprising. The e-commerce giant is already an investor in the market after leading a $700 million round into Michigan-based electric truck startup Rivian Automotive Inc. Feb. 15 as well as participating in a $530 million round into self-driving car startup Aurora Innovation Inc. Feb. 7.

Amazon has long held broader ambitions in logistics as well, ranging from a freight brokering service, delivery robots, drones, shipping containers and even its own cargo airline.

TuSimple would be a good fit along Amazon’s existing logistics businesses as well as adding to its long-held ambition to ship and deliver its own goods from warehouse to homes.

Image: TuSimple