Cruise is starting to offer driverless robotaxis in San Francisco and is set to receive a $1.35 billion investment from SoftBank.
The GM-backed startup revealed the two pieces of news in tandem as it opened a sign-up page for San Franciscans to get driverless rides. The rides will initially be free for the small number of users that will be accepted onto the program.
The SoftBank Vision Fund started investing in Cruise back in 2018 and had pledged to invest an additional $1.35 billion once the startup began public driverless operations.
According to Cruise, the mammoth investment will help the company expand its team and quickly scale its tech across San Francisco and into more communities.
“Just 3 months ago I took the first-ever fully driverless ride in a major US city, and it was incredible,” said Kyle Vogt, Interim CEO, CTO, and Co-founder of Cruise in a blog post.
“When Sourdough arrived, with no one inside, and took me for a quiet ride through the streets of SF, it became clear to me that we’ve built something very special. Now it’s time for us to share it.”
Cruise employees have been taking rides “every single night” along with some colleagues from GM. The rides in the “Tostada” and “Disco” cars were performed “flawlessly.”
Cruise gives its cars unique names but they all offer the same “consistent and predictable” experience.
“From app to pickup to dropoff, these amazing vehicles just work, [emphasis in original],” reads a blog post. Most people who try the cars “experience childlike delight” before the ride “quickly becomes boring.”
Mary Barra, the CEO of GM, said her first ride was “surreal” and “a highlight of her career.”
Robotaxis are rapidly approaching commercial reality, after years of promises of deployments. Pony.ai, for example, recently revealed its sixth-generation autonomous driving system designed specifically for its Toyota-made robotaxis in China.
Keyword: Cruise Gets Huge $1.35 Billion Investment as it Starts Public Robotaxi Rides