Almost one decade after its $1 billion acquisition of Cruise, automaker General Motors has decided to give up on the self-driving startup. GM will now use Cruise tech to improve its own advanced driver assistance system with the ultimate goal of offering personal autonomous vehicles.
Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha and Margaux MacColl are unpacking the week’s news and GM’s decision – which initially came as a shock considering the $10 billion GM pumped into the company over the years. But when examining Cruise’s tumultuous 2023 and 2024, that decision seems a little clearer.
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Listen to the full episode to hear about:
- Freysa.ai’s public challenge and what’s motivating users to make the AI chat bot fall in love with them.
- Why VCs are lining up to back Lumen Orbit’s moonshot of data centers in space.
- Which startups are stepping up amid a looming TikTok ban and if we’ll see another company capture Bluesky’s success. According to Anthony, it all depends on, “luck, timing, and something to do with critical mass.”
- Who’s stepping up to fill Y Combinator’s place in Africa and where else we could see a pivot to local accelerators.
Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned!
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here.