Cruise’s chief technology officer, Kyle Vogt (left), with Voyage CEO Oliver Cameron, who will join Cruise as part of a company acquisition.
Travel
General Motors’ autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Cruise, has agreed to acquire Voyage, an autonomous car start-up that operates in retirement communities.
The companies, which did not disclose the terms of the agreement, announced on Monday on a blog by Voyage CEO Oliver Cameron that he will join Cruise as vice president of product. Cruise spokesman Ray Wert declined to comment on the cost of the deal.
Cruise does not plan to continue Voyage’s operations in retirement communities at the moment, Wert said. Instead, Cruise is focused on launching a robot taxi business in San Francisco. Most of Voyage’s 60 employees are expected to join Cruise, Wert said.
“Voyage is fully aligned with our mission and shares our mindset regarding security, accessibility, cost and convenience for customers,” said Wert by email. “His talented team is highly productive and resourceful, with direct experience in developing a full-stack AV solution that will help accelerate our efforts to build the world’s most advanced autonomous vehicles.”
The acquisition contributes to continued consolidation in the autonomous vehicle sector, after years of enthusiasm promoting technology as the next multitrillion market for transportation companies. Some companies, like Uber Technologies, have given up on developing the systems internally, while others, like Zoox, have sold to Amazon. Alphabet’s Waymo remains the highest profile vanguard, operating a fleet of public autonomous vehicles in Arizona.
Cruise has remained steadfast in its tests since it was acquired by GM in 2016. It has increased its registered test fleet to more than 200 vehicles, but has not yet announced when it plans to offer a robot fleet to the public in San Francisco. Initially planned to do so in 2019.
Other investors in Cruise now include Honda Motor, SoftBank Vision Fund, Microsoft and others.
The Cruise-Voyage business remains subject to customary closing conditions.