Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund is set to invest $1.35bn in US-based autonomous driving technology developer Cruise, which launched its driverless taxi service yesterday.
Founded in 2013, Cruise has developed self-driving electric vehicles designed to be deployed as taxis. Automotive manufacturer General Motors (GM) acquired the company in a $1bn deal in 2016, before spinning it off again in 2018.
SoftBank supplied an initial $900m for the company the same year with a commitment to provide a further $1.35bn once its driverless technology was commercially viable. Cruise officially launched its robotaxi service in San Francisco on Tuesday, with rides available to be booked through a waiting list.
Vision Fund followed the 2018 investment by taking part in a $1.15bn round for Cruise in 2019 that included GM and fellow automotive manufacturer Honda as well as investment manager T Rowe Price, valuing it at $19bn post-money.
The company raised $2bn in a January 2021 round featuring GM, Honda, software provider Microsoft and unnamed institutional investors at a $30bn post-money valuation. It added $750m from retailer Walmart and an undisclosed additional investor three months later.
Cruise also acquired autonomous taxi developer Voyage, in a $52m deal in March 2021 that bought out carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and petroleum supplier Chevron’s respective corporate venturing units: InMotion Ventures and Chevron Technology Ventures.
Other companies, such as ride hailing app developer Lyft and autonomous driving technology producers WayMo and Argo AI, are also making advances in the robotaxi space.
Argo AI, which received $2.6bn in capital and assets from automotive manufacturer Volkswagen in 2019, teamed up with Lyft and existing investor Ford Motor Company in July 2021 to deploy autonomous Ford vehicles as part of Lyft’s fleet.
The first autonomous vehicles were launched through the plan in Miami in December 2021, putting it slightly ahead of Cruise in timeline but also with the benefit of support from a major ride hailing service. Lyft also took a 2.5% stake in Argo AI in exchange for the latter having access to anonymised service and fleet data.
Waymo, which is focusing on autonomous driving for package delivery and freight industries in addition to driverless taxis, raised $2.5bn in a June 2021 round that included its former parent company, internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, and fellow corporates Magna International and AutoNation.
The company has also joined forces with China-headquartered carmaker Geely to make autonomous taxis that may not even have a steering wheel or pedals.
SoftBank Vision Fund’s portfolio has included Uber ATG, the self-driving subsidiary of on-demand ride provider Uber, having supplied $333m as part of a $1bn deal when it was spun off by its parent in 2019, with carmaker Toyota and automotive component maker Denso investing the balance.
Fellow autonomous car technology developer Aurora later agreed a $10bn merger with Uber ATG in December 2020 before organising in a $13bn reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company Reinvent Technology Partners Y seven months later.
Photo courtesy of Cruise LLC.
