Southfield — SoftBank is pouring $2.25bn into General Motors’s autonomous-vehicle unit as the world’s biggest technology fund and America’s largest vehicle maker join forces to take on Google in the battle to dominate the self-driving car business. SoftBank Vision Fund will invest in GM Cruise Holdings in two phases, with $1.35bn going in once Cruise deploys autonomous vehicles in an app-based ride-hailing service next year. Once SoftBank completes the investment, it’ll own 19.6% of GM Cruise, valuing the unit at $11.5 billion. GM jumped the most since the car maker’s November 2010 IPO. The deal combines two key players in the emerging technology of self-driving cars and services. GM intends to be the first vehicle maker to bring an autonomous taxi service to public roads next year, positioning the company alongside Waymo, the unit of Google owner Alphabet, among the leaders in the rapidly growing field. SoftBank also can lend expertise and connections to fuel GM’s ambitions, as it’...
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