GM Adds SoftBank as Ally in Self-Driving Race Against Google

  • Fund’s $2.25 billion infusion values Cruise at $11.5 billion
  • Alphabet’s Waymo expands partnership with Fiat Chrysler
GM President Dan Ammann says SoftBank’s investment shows there’s huge potential in autonomous driving.(Source: Bloomberg)
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General Motors Co., fueled by a $2.25 billion investment from SoftBank Vision Fund, is putting serious heat on Google in the race to usher in the autonomous-driving future.

GM announced that the SoftBank fund would take a stake in its Cruise autonomous-car unit just hours before Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo expanded its partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. The major powers are squaring off into alliances to ensure they claim a stake in the future of the transportation industry, where machines will rule the road and old business models could vanish.