SoftBank Invests in GM’s Cruise Automation
The SoftBank Vision Fund will be investing $2.25 billion in GM’s Cruise Automation, its self-driving car division. The company will receive an initial investment at the close of the transaction, and the remaining $1.35 billion when GM deploys its self-driving cars for commercial use. (GM has claimed that it will mass-produce autonomous cars without steering wheels or pedals by 2019.) At that point, SoftBank will own 19.6% of Cruise Automation; it has also invested in Uber, Asian ride-hailing companies, Nvidia, and Daimler.