GM to acquire Silicon Valley start-up Cruise Automation to accelerate autonomous vehicle drive

Cruise Automation will operate as an independent unit within GM’s recently formed Autonomous Vehicle Development Team.

By Autocar Professional Bureau

12 Mar 2016

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General Motors’ president Dan Ammann (right) with Cruise Automation co-founders Kyle Vogt (centre) and Daniel Kan (left).

General Motors has announced it is acquiring Cruise Automation Inc to add Cruise’s deep software talent and rapid development capability to further accelerate GM’s development of autonomous vehicle technology.

In june 2014,Cruise Automation had launched its first advanced driver automation system (ADAS) product, called the Cruise RP-1, which the company says can be retrofitted into an existing car and used for highway driving in daylight hours.

“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.

Cruise Automation will 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, and will continue to be based in San Francisco. Founded in 2013, Cruise has moved quickly to develop and test autonomous vehicle technology in San Francisco’s challenging city environment.

“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 commercialising autonomous vehicle technology.”

According to Mark Reuss, GM executive vice-president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, “Cruise provides our company with a unique technology advantage that is unmatched in our industry. We intend to invest significantly to further grow the talent base and capabilities already established by the Cruise team.”

The acquisition of Cruise Automation is GM’s latest step toward its goal of redefining the future of personal mobility. Since the beginning of the year, GM has entered into a strategic alliance with ride-sharing company Lyft; formed Maven, its personal mobility brand for car-sharing fleets in many U.S. cities, and established a separate unit for autonomous vehicle development.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.