General Motors is doubling down on the future by announcing the acquisition of Cruise Automation.
According to GM, the purpose of the acquisition is to speed up the development of autonomous vehicles and technology.
“Fully autonomous vehicles can bring our customers enormous benefits in terms of greater convenience, lower cost and improved safety for their daily mobility needs,” said GM President Dan Ammann.
Though General Motors did not disclose how much it spent on the acquisition, some reports peg the transaction at $1 billion in cash and stock.
Despite being acquired by GM, Cruise Automation will continue to be based in San Francisco and operate as an independent unit within GM’s recently-formed Autonomous Vehicle Development Team led by Doug Parks, GM vice president of autonomous technology and vehicle execution.
“GM’s commitment to autonomous vehicles is inspiring, deliberate, and completely in line with our vision to make transportation safer and more accessible,” said Kyle Vogt, founder of Cruise Automation. “We are excited to be partnering with GM and believe this is a ground-breaking and necessary step toward rapidly commercializing autonomous vehicle technology.”
Since the beginning of 2016, GM has made several bold steps to secure its future in personal mobility. The automaker made a $500 million investment into Lyft, thereby crafting a strategic partnership with the company, as well as launched Maven, GM’s personal car-sharing service.
This example is a former NCRS award winner.
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Breaking out the spec sheets for a comparison.
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Extra comfort for rear-seated passengers.
Filings made in 24 countries, so far.
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some sources are saying the price was $1bn. that seems like a lot of money if true. i hope it is worth it.
Autonomous vehicles are boring and their only viable application, to me, is if I'm stuck in commuter traffic. Perhaps this $$ needs to be spent on infrastructure rather than us sitting back and reading our email or watching something in our vehicles. I'd rather drive than be chauffeured, TYVM, especially if it's a car worth driving. Otherwise, I'll take a commuter train or bus which will be, more than likely, cheaper than the cost of ownership of an autonomous vehicle unless we can car pool and have a few drinks. OK, maybe more than a few, on the way home without getting a DUI.
Give me better roads, better drivers, and a shorter commute time and I'll be happy to drive myself, TYVM....Hmmmm, maybe autonomous isn't such a bad idea after all, lol.....
This is great news. Getting people like my mother in law out from behind the wheel will be HUGE. Yeah, she doesn't drive at night any more, but she's dropping by the Verizon store again today (Saturday, when working people are there) because she still can't figure out simple stuff on her new iPhone. I can't tell you how many times she has smacked curbs, pillars and other objects with her car. Thankfully, not people. Yet.
Although I surely prefer to stay in command behind the wheel, I have to be realistic- at 64, my time left to drive safely is probably limited. Mass transit is great, but also limited, so having autonomous cars or cabs is something I look forward to using when needed. Just hurry up before I start driving like my mother in law!