(Reuters) – Self-driving tech firm Cruise on Tuesday said investor SoftBank Group Corp’s Vision Fund has agreed to invest an additional $1.35 billion through a second tranche, as it is working to launch commercial ridehailing service in San Francisco.
In 2018, SoftBank Vision Fund invested $900 million in the GM-backed Cruise and committed to investing another $1.35 billion when Cruise vehicles were ready for commercial deployment, which were at that time scheduled for 2019.
Dan Ammann, the previous chief executive of Cruise, said he hoped to get a regulatory permit to charge for driverless rides from California Public Utilities Commission early this year.
He stepped down in December and Cruise founder and president Kyle Vogt now serves as interim CEO.
Softbank’s investment will help Cruise “quickly scale this technology” across San Francisco and into more communities, Vogt said in a blog posting.
“Most people experience childlike delight during the first ride, but then the ride quickly becomes boring (as it should),” he said, adding that “One of them even fell asleep.”
Cruise also said that as of Tuesday it would open up the waiting list to the general public to sign up for free rides in San Francisco.
When asked about whether GM plans to list Cruise on the stock markets to raise capital, GM CEO Mary Barra said in October that Cruise is “well-funded.”
After the funding round that included Microsoft and Walmart early last year, Cruise said its valuation was above $30 billion.
(Reporting By Jane Lanhee Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
