Cruise, an autonomous subsidiary of General Motors, today announced that it is an autonomous startup. It is the latest consolidation trend in the sector.
“The self-driving car industry is consolidating and the leaders of a trillion dollar market are emerging rapidly,” Voyager co-founder and CEO Oliver Cameron said in a blog. “After being closely involved with the AV (autonomous vehicle) industry for the past five years, I can say with certainty that Cruise – with its advanced autonomous driving technology, exclusive partnerships with automakers and all-electric vehicles with no human controls – is considered the clear leader. “
The GM-supported cruise is relatively well funded compared to Voyage. It operates its autonomous vehicles in San Francisco – it started testing at the end of last year – while Voyage has been testing primarily in smaller retirement communities like San Jose, California and The Villages, Florida. Voyage is a startup that emerged from the online education company Udacity.
Cruise itself recently partnered to help accelerate its research. Other notable autonomous driving partnerships include and for Aurora.