General Motors (Gm) said it will invest $14m on a new facility in San Francisco for Cruise Automation to accelerate the development of autonomous cars.
GM acquired the driverless tech startup last March. The new R&D facility, which is expected be ready by the end of this year, will more than double Cruise Automation’s existing research and development space.
California has provided GM with an $8m tax credit to help with the expansion. Over the course of five years, Cruise Automation will add over 1,100 new employees.
Presently, GM and Cruise Automation are working on the development of autonomous driving technology and conducting tests on more than 50 of Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles on the streets of San Francisco; Scottsdale, Arizona and metro Detroit.
The new investment will include repurposing an existing plant in San Francisco.
General Motors chairman and CEO Mary Barra said: “Expanding our team at Cruise Automation and linking them with our global engineering talent is another important step in our work to redefine the future of personal mobility.
“Self-driving technology holds enormous benefits to society in the form of increased safety and access to transportation. Running our autonomous vehicle program as a start-up is giving us the speed we need to continue to stay at the forefront of development of these technologies and the market applications.”
Cruise Automation CEO Kyle Vogt said: “As autonomous car technology matures, our company's talent needs will continue to increase. Accessing the world-class talent pool that the San Francisco Bay Area offers is one of the many reasons we plan to grow our presence in the state.”
