The startup PlusAI, which collaborates with Nvidia, recently fell victim to a trailer theft. The company uses semi-trailers for real-world testing and research, often employing simulated cargo loads to model vehicle behavior under various road conditions.
The stolen trailers were parked outside the company's warehouse and secured with hand locks. While the company's truck cabs, which contained advanced AI hardware, remained safely inside the facility, the trailers were taken by criminals expecting to find valuable AI GPUs.
The theft was discovered after a PlusAI executive received a tip from an acquaintance who spotted the trailers near their workplace, just half a mile from the warehouse. Police were notified, and the trailers were subsequently recovered.
Instead of the anticipated shipment of high-value AI components, the thieves found only 40 000 pounds of sand. The trailers contained a total of 20 tons of ballast sand used by the startup for its testing procedures.
