Cruise Has Acquires Self-Driving Startup Named Voyage
Voyage, a self-driving vehicle and robotics company focused on providing technology to seniors, has struck a deal to expand its autonomous driving unit. The company, which operates a fleet of self-driving cars in the so-called Villages, announced it has acquired Cruise, the company working on autonomous landing gear as part of a planned robotic taxi service for cruise ships. Voyage – a company with an autonomous-powered unit and a focus on the technology used to provide transportation for retirees – has completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of Cruise Cruise Cruise Lines Inc., expanding its portfolio of autonomous vehicles.
Cruise operates its autonomous vehicles in the US, while Voyage monitors small autonomous vehicles at speeds that people of many ages visit. Cruise operates Cruise’s autonomous vehicle in New York City, where he oversees a fleet of low-speed autonomous vehicles that provide rides for residents of several retirement communities. Cruise operates Voyages’ autonomous cars and operates them in Florida. He oversees small, still small, autonomous cars, as well as a small number of smaller, faster cars, to visit people in many retired communities.
Cruise operates Voyage’s autonomous cars in New York City, where he runs a fleet of low-speed autonomous vehicles that offer rides to residents in a number of retirement communities. Cruise operates its autonomous vehicle in San Diego, California, and operates it in Florida, while Voyages operates autonomous low-speed cars that offer rides to multiple residents in retirement communities.
Voyage specializes in driverless vans for older residents in New York City and Florida. The company operates a fleet of self-driving cars in the US and Europe in a range of age groups, also known as “The Villages.”
For GM, the goal of the partnership with Cruise is to transform transportation and help automakers realize their vision of a common and connected self-driving vehicle. Cruise’s deep partnerships with GM and Honda provide the critical engineering, manufacturing, and safety expertise needed to scale a handful of self-driving vehicles to millions, do so with unrivaled cost-efficiency, and deliver them at an unprecedented price and value – from tens of millions to hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of vehicles in the next few years. Cruise, for example, is making its vehicles with the latest hardware and software, while we’re figuring out how self-driving cars can solve some of the biggest driving challenges in San Francisco. GM: “Our goal with our partnerships at Cruise was not only to transform transportation but also to help manufacturers realize our vision of building a global network of shared, connected, self-driving vehicles with the technology and manufacturing, safety and experience needed to scale from a few hundred or a hundred thousand self-driving cars to tens of millions to achieve unprecedented price efficiency.
Voyage intends to combine our research to expand our self-driving car service to other markets such as the US, Europe, and Asia. For more information about Voyage and its vision for the future of autonomous transportation, visit the company’s Cruise Acquisition blog and the blog for more details on the acquisition.
The acquisition of Voyage by Cruise is the latest in a long line of companies working together to advance the development of technology for autonomous driving. Pitchbook’s Asad Hussain notes that while technology companies like Google, Tesla, and Uber have achieved significant market positions, small autonomous vehicle start-ups like Cruise face steep capital requirements and the need to expand. Although they have reached a considerable market place “Small start-ups with autonomous cars that resemble travel are facing a steep need to increase their capacity,” he says. As Asad Hussein of Pitchbooks notes, “While technology-driven self-driving leaders like Google and Tesla have achieved impressive market positions,” small autonomous vehicle startups like Cruise face steep demands on size.
While technology companies like Google, Tesla, and Uber, which drive themselves using self-driving cars, have achieved considerable market positions, small autonomous vehicle start-ups like Voyage face steep capital requirements to expand their capacity. As Asad Hussain notes, “While the technology – powered by self-driving cars – has taken Google and Tesla to a remarkable market position,” small vehicle start-ups face steep capital demands and the need to expand.
The voyage seems to combine its early analysis with a long-term vision to improve its position in the self-driving car market. With Cruise, the company is also helping to establish itself as a leading provider of this technology and is also helping companies to establish themselves as pacesetters in terms of expertise. Cruise’s acquisition of Voyage and its ability to become a major player in a new, more competitive, self-driving market underpins its status as one of the world’s most successful self-driving car companies.
The acquisition of Voyage, a start-up that has developed a navigation tool for real-time analysis, and a company that is testing how self-driving cars can be manufactured, paves the way for a more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective future for self-driving cars. With Microsoft’s autonomous vehicles, the future looks bright for the autonomous vehicle industry and Cruise’s proprietary technology for autonomous driving.
