General Motors has announced it is acquiring software firm Cruise Automation to further accelerate the company’s development of autonomous vehicle technology.

Cruise will operate as an independent unit within GM’s recently formed Autonomous Vehicle Development Team led by Doug Parks, GM vice president of autonomous technology and vehicle execution, and will continue to be based in San Francisco.  Founded in 2013, Cruise has moved quickly to develop and test autonomous vehicle technology in San Francisco’s challenging city environment.

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“Fully autonomous vehicles can bring our customers enormous benefits in terms of greater convenience, lower cost and improved safety for their daily mobility needs,” said GM President Dan Ammann.

“GM’s commitment to autonomous vehicles is inspiring, deliberate, and completely in line with our vision to make transportation safer and more accessible,” said Kyle Vogt, founder of Cruise Automation. “We are excited to be partnering with GM and believe this is a ground-breaking and necessary step toward rapidly commercialising autonomous vehicle technology.”

Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, said that Cruise provides GM with a “unique technology advantage that is unmatched in our industry”.

“We intend to invest significantly to further grow the talent base and capabilities already established by the Cruise team,” Reuss said.

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GM presented the acquisition move as the company’s latest step toward its strategic goal of redefining the future of personal mobility. Since the beginning of the year, GM has entered into a strategic alliance with ride-sharing company Lyft; formed Maven, its personal mobility brand for car-sharing fleets in many U.S. cities, and established a separate unit for autonomous vehicle development.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter.