Tech giant Microsoft has joined hands with vehicle manufacturer General Motors and self-driving car company Cruise to drive its rollout of electric, self-driving cars. Along with Microsoft, Honda and other institutional investors have made a combined equity investment of over $2 billion in Cruise, raising its valuation to around $30 billion.
Cruise – Self Driving Vehicles
Cruise, a leader in self-driving technology, was acquired by GM in 2016. It got approval from California late last year to test its automated vehicles in San Francisco without drivers. CEO Dan Ammann said that the deal will be a “force multiplier” that accelerates the commercialization of the company’s driverless taxi fleet.
By collaborating with Microsoft, Cruise will get access to Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing platform to use in its autonomous taxis. GM will also be getting hardware and software support from Microsoft through the alliance. With the ever-growing competition in the EV industry, Microsoft’s partnership could pave the way for Cruise to get ahead of its competitors.
Competition
Giant automakers are now bringing tech companies on board to spread out the huge costs and risks of developing driverless, electric vehicles. While Honda has joined GM on the Cruise project, rivals have been collaborating too.
Argo AI
Volkswagen and Ford have partnered with the Pittsburgh-based self-driving company Argo AI. The company was originated in 2016 by Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, veterans of Google and Uber self-driving programs. It is valued at $7.25 billion.
Waymo
Hyundai teamed up with Fiat Chrysler, now Stellantis, last summer to use autonomous technology produced by Alphabet-owned Waymo. Waymo launched its robo-taxi project late last year in the city of Phoenix, making it the first widely available self-driving ride service to the general public. The company is valued at just over $30 billion.
Toyota, Amazon, & Apple
Toyota has joined Uber while Amazon bought the self-driving car company Zoox last summer. Some analysts think that Apple would soon be putting its technology in self-driving cars as well, however, the iPhone manufacturer has remained quiet yet.
New Image of General Motors
The Detroit-based General Motors has been working on revamping its brand image, clarifying that it will now be adopting electric vehicles. The 12-years old automaker revealed its new corporate logo this month as a symbol of its renewed direction. The previous square blue logo was replaced with a lower-case gm guarded by curved corners, with an “m” that resembles an electrical plug. Last week, GM disclosed plans to build new electric vans.
Collaborating with Microsoft will act as a booster for the company’s digital initiatives, streamlining operations across digital supply chains. It will introduce new transport services to customers like robo-taxis and last-mile deliveries.
Shares of GM are up 10%.
Microsoft’s Benefit
Through the “long-term strategic relationship”, Microsoft will be able to access expertise from GM and Cruise that it could use for further penetrating Azure’s market in the dynamic vehicles industry. Moreover, it would bring the tech firm shoulder to shoulder with other cloud rivals like Amazon’s AWS.
Previously, Volkswagen and Toyota have used Microsoft’s Azure for operations and services but not for self-driving. Hence, this will be a first for Microsoft.
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
