General Motors said that it is paying $2.1 billion
to buy out Japanese tech investment firm
Softbank’s stake in the Detroit automaker’s
Cruise autonomous vehicle subsidiary.
Softbank paid $2.25 billion for a 20% stake in
Cruise in 2018 as part of a wave of investment in
self-driving technology.
GM also said it is making an additional $1.35
billion investment in Cruise, in which it acquired
a majority stake in 2016. Others Cruise investors
include Honda, Microsoft, mutual fund company
T. Rowe Price, and Walmart.
Cruise is operating a small fleet of autonomous
vehicles in San Francisco that it opened to the
general public at the beginning of February. GM
expects to get a permit to charge passengers for
autonomous rides this year.