It may have taken more than a year but Cruise Automation finally seems to be rolling in the good times after it’s all set to receive a huge investment from Softbank. Cruise, a US-based self-driving car division of General Motors Co. confirmed on Friday that its proposed $2.25 billion investment from Softbank Corp was finally approved by a US government committee.
The deal was made back in 2018, a time when Softbank was under the scrutiny of the US over merger with the Chinese firms. This would be a major step up for Cruise undoubtedly. Chief executive Dan Ammann informed how this huge infusion of money would help the firm launch driverless cars on a massive scale. Cruise has reportedly raised a whopping $7.25 billion in the past year.
According to Reuters, the investment was approved on Friday by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Although being a Japanese origin firm, Softbank has made investments in a number of countries including China. It encourages it’s portfolio companies to share data. Softbank will not have access to Cruise’s technology however.
Cruise was acquired by GM in the year 2016 and is now one of the most rapidly growing companies in its domain. The company raised a staggering $1.15 billion more at a $19 billion valuation in a venture capital round led by T. Rowe Price Group that included GM, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and SoftBank as well in the month of May this year.
Honda backed the company with a $2.75 billion deal in October with a common vision for purpose-built autonomous vehicles. Cruise has been successful in raising $7.25 billion till date. Softbank will now own a 20 percent stake in the company post approval of the deal.
