General Motors has announced it has acquired Cruise Automation self-driving vehicle startup. The American manufacturer is pushing towards becoming one of the leading companies delivering driverless technologies. As a part of the plan, GM is buying the San Francisco-based Cruise Automation company that works on autonomous vehicles. We don’t have exact financial details regarding the deal, but technology website Re/Code claims GM paid around $1 billion. The information is still unconfirmed by the automaker. Cruise Automation will be fully owned by General Motors but will operate as an independent part of the Autonomous Vehicle Development Team of the company. According to The Verge, the American auto group will use Cruise Automation’s "deep software talent and rapid development capability" to accelerate the development process for autonomous cabs. “We've been really clear that we see the first large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicles being into a ride-share type of car, so we think that's the right first application,” GM President Dan Amman commented speaking to The Verge. “We will be committing considerable resources to recruit and grow the capability of the team,” he also said. Cruise was launched in 2013 and currently has 40 employees, working on a “fully driverless” vehicle, according to founder Kyle Vogt. “We are excited to be partnering with GM and believe this is a ground-breaking and necessary step toward rapidly commercializing autonomous vehicle technology,” Vogt declared. Source- General Motors via Reuters, Re/Code, and The Verge
