UPS has announced that its venture capital arm, UPS Ventures, has made a minority investment in self-driving truck company TuSimple.

Building off of an ongoing commercial relationship between the two companies in which UPS has purchased transportation services from TuSimple, UPS and TuSimple are testing self-driving tractor trailers on a route in Arizona to determine if the vehicles are capable of improving service and efficiency in the UPS network.

“UPS is committed to developing and deploying technologies that enable us to operate our global logistics network more efficiently,” says Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Scott Price.

“While fully autonomous, driverless vehicles still have development and regulatory work ahead, we are excited by the advances in braking and other technologies that companies like TuSimple are mastering. All of these technologies offer significant safety and other benefits that will be realized long before the full vision of autonomous vehicles is brought to fruition – and UPS will be there, as a leader implementing these new technologies in our fleet.”

UPS initially started working with TuSimple to get a better understanding of the requirements for Level 4 Autonomous trucking in its network. With L4 autonomy, a vehicle’s onboard computer is in complete control at all times, which eliminates manual intervention, but UPS notes that laws regulating L4 Autonomous driving require a driver in the vehicle at all times to take over operation if needed.

As part of ongoing testing, UPS has been providing TuSimple with truckloads of goods to carry on a North American Freight Forwarding route between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. Initiated back in May, the self-driving service includes a driver and engineer in the vehicle, and the companies monitor distance and time the trucks travel autonomously, safety data and transport time.

“We are honored by UPS’s strategic investment and their vote of confidence in TuSimple, this proves their commitment to staying at the forefront of innovation,” says TuSimple’s founder, president & CTO, Xiaodi Hou.

“TuSimple is confident that it can accelerate bringing the first self-driving truck to market to increase road safety.”

UPS says that its tests with TuSimple are part of an “advanced technology evaluation” for vehicles in the UPS Global Smart Logistics Network. To make sure that it remains the global leader in logistics, UPS says that it is investing in Internet of Things (IoT) technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics to “increase fuel efficiency and improve customer service.”