SoftBank is investing billions in GM’s self-driving car division

The Japanese conglomerate has found yet another investment. This time its Vision Fund will invest $2.25 billion in General Motors self-driving car division, Cruise. GM announced the investment this morning. The American automaker originally acquired Cruise Automation in 2016. The investment from Softbank will allow Cruise to advance its development of autonomous vehicles as well as giving the Japanese giant an almost 20% share of the company. Announcing the investment, Michael Ronen, managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers, said:

“GM has made significant progress toward realizing the dream of completely automated driving to dramatically reduce fatalities, emissions, and congestion. The GM Cruise approach of a fully integrated hardware and software stack gives it a unique competitive advantage. We are very impressed by the advances made by the Cruise and GM teams, and are thrilled to help them lead a historic transformation of the automobile industry.”

We are excited to announce that the Softbank Vision Fund will invest $2.25 billion in GM @Cruise. Read more about the investment here: https://t.co/AXbcJkMRLt pic.twitter.com/vBft6SQTxt

— General Motors (@GM) May 31, 2018