Kyle Vogt, head of cruise technology (left), along with Voyage CEO Oliver Cameron, who will join Cruise as part of the company’s acquisition.
Travel
The parent-owned subsidiary of General Motors, Cruise, has agreed to acquire Voyage, a self-driving car company operating in retirement communities.
The companies, which did not disclose the terms of the deal, announced it on Monday in a blog post by Voyage CEO Oliver Cameron, who will join Cruise as vice president of products. Cruise spokesman Ray Wert declined to comment on the cost of the transaction.
It is unclear how long Cruise will continue to operate in retirement communities. Wert said that “the communities in which they operate are not on the immediate roadmap.” Instead, Cruise is focusing on launching a robotaxi business in San Francisco. Most of Voyage’s 60 employees are expected to join Cruise, Wert said.
“Voyage is closely aligned with our mission and shares our mindset about safety, accessibility, cost and customer comfort,” Wert said in an email. “Their talented team is extremely productive and resourceful, with direct experience in developing a full-stack AV solution that will help us accelerate our efforts to build the world’s most advanced autopilot vehicles.”
The acquisition adds to a continued consolidation in the autonomous vehicle sector, after years of enthusiasm promoting technology as the next multimillion-dollar market for transport companies. Some companies, such as Uber Technologies, have abandoned the development of internal systems, while others such as Zoox have sold to Amazon. Alphabet’s Waymo remains the highest profile, operating a public fleet of autonomous vehicles in Arizona.
The cruise has remained steady in its testing since it was acquired by GM in 2016. It has expanded its test fleet to more than 200 vehicles, but has not yet announced when it plans to offer a robotaxi fleet to the San Francisco public. It originally planned to do so in 2019.
Other Cruise investors now include Honda Motor, SoftBank Vision Fund, Microsoft and others.
The Cruise-Voyage agreement remains subject to the usual conditions of closure.