The search for autonomous cars has brought car manufacturers and technology companies closer than ever. Microsoft and General Motors, strange bedfellows, though they could have been a decade or two ago, are now teaming up to launch Cruise’s taxi cab.
On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a contribution to a $ 2 billion investment round that also included funding from GM and Honda, placing Cruise’s total valuation at $ 30 billion. GM acquired Cruise in 2016; Since then, the autonomous search startup has grown from 40 employees to nearly 2,000, according to the Financial Times.
Microsoft’s stake gives Cruise a backbone of cloud computing to grow and grow faster; in turn, Cruise gives Microsoft forays into the whole issue of autonomous car, which is fast becoming the domain of the companies that already make your smartphones and much of the TV you like to stream. From Joint press release from Microsoft and GM announcing the news:
To unlock the potential of cloud computing for self-driving vehicles, Cruise will leverage Azure, Microsoft’s cloud and on-edge computing platform, to market its unique large-scale autonomous vehicle solutions. Microsoft, as Cruise’s preferred cloud provider, will also leverage Cruise’s deep industry experience to enhance customer-based product innovation and serve transportation companies around the world through continued investment in Azure.
As we learned last week, GM has many vehicles nearby, along with interesting new initiatives such as BrightDrop, which deal in both software-based fleet management and logistics as well as the manufacture of electric cars. Again, this is where Microsoft comes in, as Mary Barra, CEO of GM, explains:
“Microsoft is a great addition to the team as we move toward a future world of zero accidents, zero emissions and zero congestion,” said Mary Barra, president and CEO of GM. “Microsoft will help us accelerate the commercialization of Cruise’s all-electric, autonomous vehicles and help GM reap even more benefits from cloud computing as we launch 30 new electric vehicles worldwide in 2025 and create new businesses and services for boosting growth “.
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About a year ago, Cruise made the Origin known – Its tilt for the standalone shuttle bus which looks, well, as many standalone shuttle buses will do, as it is a rounded box with lots of glass and big wheels pushed towards the corners to maximize interior volume. It certainly looks more conventional than Zoox design, but frankly, I don’t care what my faceless and soulless car of the future is like, it just takes me where I go relatively efficiently without killing myself or anyone.
Cruise has been testing vehicles for five years, in the form of modified Chevrolet bolts. Over this time, these bolts have accumulated 2 million miles of testing in the company’s hometown, San Francisco, in addition to previous tests conducted at GM’s outlets in Michigan.
Until the end of last year, these trips were made with a driver ready, although supposedly Cruise is now testing driverless cars. Unlike Waymo, it doesn’t seem to carry passengers yet, as Google’s standalone start-up recently began doing so in the Phoenix subway area. It could still be a while before Bay Area residents have a chance to travel on an Origin, although Microsoft joins the effort and can speed things up.