SoftBank invests $2.25b in GM’s self-driving venture

NEW YORK — Japanese telecom giant SoftBank will invest $2.25 billion in General Motors’ (GM) autonomous car programme in exchange for a stake in the venture, GM announced on Thursday.

The infusion of cash is a vote of confidence in the big US automaker, which is competing with other carmakers and technology companies to introduce autonomous cars globally. 

The investment from the SoftBank Vision Fund in the GM Cruise Holdings will be executed in two stages, with the first $900 million coming after the transaction is finalised and another $1.35 billion once GM vehicles are ready for commercialisation.

GM has said it plans to commercialise its Cruise programme in 2019 through ridesharing. 

The announcement sparked a rally in GM shares, which jumped 11.5 per cent to $42.16 in pre-market trading.

“Our Cruise and GM teams together have made tremendous progress over the last two years,” said GM Chief Executive Mary Barra. 

“Teaming up with SoftBank adds an additional strong partner as we pursue our vision of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.”

In exchange for the investment, SoftBank will hold a 19.6 per cent stake in GM Cruise.

“GM has made significant progress toward realising the dream of completely automated driving to dramatically reduce fatalities, emissions and congestion,” said Michael Ronan, managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisors.

“We are very impressed by the advances made by the Cruise and GM teams, and are thrilled to help them lead a historic transformation of the automobile industry.”