General Motors is teaming up with Microsoft to accelerate its rollout of electrical, self-driving cars.
In the venture announced Tuesday, the firms said Microsoft’s Azure cloud and edge computing platform would be utilized to”commercialize its unique autonomous car solutions at scale”
Microsoft joins General Motors, Honda and other institutional investors in a joint brand new equity investment of over $2 billion in Circle, bringing its own valuation to roughly $30 billion. Cruise, that GM purchased in 2016, has been a leader in driverless technology and got the go-ahead from California late last year to check its automated vehicles in San Francisco without copy drivers.
“Microsoft is a good addition to the team as we push toward a future world of zero crashes, zero emissions and no congestion,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “Microsoft helps us accelerate the commercialization of Cruise’s all-electric, self-driving vehicles and help GM realize even more benefits from cloud computing as we found 30 new electric vehicles internationally by 2025 and create new businesses and solutions to drive growth.”
General Motors has been aggressively revamping its image, saying the sector has reached a history-changing inflection point for mass adoption of electric vehicles. The 112-year-old Detroit automaker this month introduced a new corporate logo to signify its new leadership as it publicly pivots to electric vehicles. It needs to be seen as a fresh vehicle firm, instead of a builder of cloud-spewing gas-powered pickups and SUVs.
GM scrapped its old square blue logo for a lower case gm surrounded by round corners and a’m’ that looks like an electrical plug.
Shares in GM jumped more than 8 percent in early trading, to $54.07.