Robohub.org
 

Robotics has its first unicorn – small SF startup Cruise Automation

by
18 March 2016



share this:

CruiseForget about Google and Boston Dynamics. This week the real news is that GM acquired small San Francisco based startup Cruise Automation for the rumored sum of more than $1B US, according to Fortune. Robotics has its first unicorn!

For the last 3 years, Cruise Automation has been working on an ‘after market’ kit to make vehicles self driving. Cruise have previously raised over $18 million in venture funding, on a post-money $90 million valuation. Investors include YCombinator, Spark Capital, Maven Ventures and Founder Collective.

Apparently Cruise was in discussion with GM about their next venture round which turned into an acquisition. It would seem that GM is interested less in the after market kit and more in integrating the Cruise team into GM’s core technology development.

According to the press release, Cruise will operate as an independent unit within GM’s recently formed Autonomous Vehicle Development Team led by Doug Parks, GM vice president of autonomous technology and vehicle execution, and will continue to be based in San Francisco, where Cruise has been testing its technology in a challenging city environment.

“Cruise provides our company with a unique technology advantage that is unmatched in our industry. We intend to invest significantly to further grow the talent base and capabilities already established by the Cruise team.” said Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain.

“GM’s commitment to autonomous vehicles is inspiring, deliberate, and completely in line with our vision to make transportation safer and more accessible,” said Kyle Vogt, founder of Cruise Automation. “We are excited to be partnering with GM and believe this is a ground-breaking and necessary step toward rapidly commercializing autonomous vehicle technology.”

According to the press release, the acquisition of Cruise is GM’s latest step toward its goal of redefining the future of personal mobility. Since the beginning of the year, GM has entered into a strategic alliance with ride-sharing company Lyft; formed Maven, its personal mobility brand for car-sharing fleets in many U.S. cities, and established a separate unit for autonomous vehicle development.

But really, robotics has finally reached the tipping point. In 2014, Silicon Valley Robotics announced that over $1 billion had been invested in robotics in the last 5 years, 2009 to 2014. In 2015, over $1 billion was invested in robotics in a 12 month period, according to Hizook. And in 2016, over $1 billion has been invested in one single robotics startup, Cruise Automation.

Robotics has its first real unicorn.



tags: , , ,


Andra Keay is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, founder of Women in Robotics and is a mentor, investor and advisor to startups, accelerators and think tanks, with a strong interest in commercializing socially positive robotics and AI.
Andra Keay is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, founder of Women in Robotics and is a mentor, investor and advisor to startups, accelerators and think tanks, with a strong interest in commercializing socially positive robotics and AI.





Related posts :



Robot Talk Episode 98 – Gabriella Pizzuto

In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Gabriella Pizzuto from the University of Liverpool about intelligent robotic manipulators for laboratory automation.
15 November 2024, by

Online hands-on science communication training – sign up here!

Find out how to communicate about your work with experts from Robohub, AIhub, and IEEE Spectrum.
13 November 2024, by

Robot Talk Episode 97 – Pratap Tokekar

In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Pratap Tokekar from the University of Maryland about how teams of robots with different capabilities can work together.
08 November 2024, by

Robot Talk Episode 96 – Maria Elena Giannaccini

In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Maria Elena Giannaccini from the University of Aberdeen about soft and bioinspired robotics for healthcare and beyond.
01 November 2024, by

Robot Talk Episode 95 – Jonathan Walker

In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Jonathan Walker from Innovate UK about translating robotics research into the commercial sector.
25 October 2024, by

Robot Talk Episode 94 – Esyin Chew

In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Esyin Chew from Cardiff Metropolitan University about service and social humanoid robots in healthcare and education.
18 October 2024, by





Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


©2024 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence


 












©2021 - ROBOTS Association