Auto giant General Motors announced on Tuesday that it will withdraw funding from its robotics company Cruise, although it has indicated that it will continue to develop self-driving cars.
GM bought Cruise in 2016 for over a billion dollars and has reportedly poured billions more into the business since then. In a press release, GM said it “will no longer fund the development of Cruise’s robots given the significant time and resources it will take to grow the business, and the increasingly competitive robotics market.”
However, the press release states that GM plans to continue developing autonomous vehicle technology. “As the largest US automaker, we are fully committed to driving comfort and are excited to bring GM customers their benefits – things like improved safety, improved traffic flow, improved accessibility, and reduced stress for drivers,” said a statement from Dave Richardson, CEO. vice president of software and service engineering at GM, it reads.
“GM is committed to delivering the best driving experience to our customers in a way that’s affordable and affordable,” said Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO. “Cruise was an early adopter of freedom, and the deep integration of our teams, combined with GM’s strong brands, scale, and manufacturing capabilities, will help advance our vision for the future of transportation.”
Gizmodo has reached out to General Motors for more information and will update this post if they respond.
This made GM one of the first companies to exit what many believed to be a booming industry. GM’s rivals, Google (which owns Waymo) have continued to expand their presence in cities, while Uber and Amazon have also sought to invest in the area. Amazon owns Zoox, which offers a bus-like experience, while Uber recently announced plans to launch a robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi.
Cruise has struggled a lot next to its rivals. Last year, after the company was granted permission to put its cars on the streets of San Francisco for round-the-clock use, the company almost immediately faced a number of setbacks. An October 2023 incident in which a Cruise robotaxi hit and dragged a woman led to the suspension of the company’s permits. Cruise then temporarily suspended operations across the country. Cruise CEO and founder, Kyle Vogt, stepped down from the company last November.
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