GM Buying Out SoftBank's $2.1 Bn Stake In Cruise Self-driving Cars

American automaker General Motors announced Friday it is acquiring SoftBank's $2.1 billion stake in its autonomous car venture Cruise. In addition, GM will chip in another $1.35 billion investment to cover a commitment made in 2018 by the Vision Fund of SoftBank, a Japanese telecom giant. The Detroit firm has ramped up its investments in autonomous technology and its build-out of electric vehicle capacity as it looks to curb emissions and engage in a technology race with Tesla and other self-driving ventures. Cruise last month opened a sign-up page to allow consumers to take a driverless ride. "Cruise has made self-driving cars a reality and is a leader on the pathway to commercial autonomous ridesharing and delivery, creating significant value for both GM shareholders and Cruise's minority shareholders," GM said in a statement.