General Motors is officially joining the race to create the first successful autonomous driving vehicle with a jump-start investment from Japanese multinational conglomerate Softbank. The company’s division “Vision Fund” announced it would be investing $2.25 billion in GM’s project, together aiming to create a self-driving car company worth over $3 billion in total.
With this investment, GM and Softbank’s partnership has officially become the biggest investment in the self-driving car industry. Following the announcement, shares in GM rose 10.7 percent, with their model, named “Cruise,” expected to be rolling out into ride share fleets come 2019.
GM reported that they were prepared to invest the money in the autonomous technology itself, but they found “shared goals” in Softabnk. Both companies recognized the business and lifestyle benefits that this rapid developing technology can bring to the world, and thus they partnered up.
The $2.25 billion funding will be split up between an initial $900 million in funding followed by the additional $1.35 billion throughout the process. The goal with this investment is to make Cruise a “0-crash, 0-emission, 0-congestions” project, according to GM Chairman/CEO Mary Barra.
