FOLLOW US

The stock price of General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) climbed on Tuesday after the announcement that it is partnering with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) to commercialize self-driving cars.

GM shares were trading at $54.81 each, up by more than 9% at the time of this writing around 11:49 a.m. EST.

Details of the GM, Cruise, Microsoft partnership

On Tuesday. GM and its subsidiary Cruise disclosed that they inked a long-term strategic partnership with Microsoft to speed up the commercialization of self-driving cars.

The companies agreed to create cleaner, safer, and more accessible transportation for everyone worldwide.

To achieve this goal, GM, Cruise, and Microsoft will combine their software and hardware engineering, cloud computing, and manufacturing capabilities as well as partner ecosystem.

As part of the partnership, Microsoft will GM. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC), and other institutional investors in a combined new equity investment of more than $2 billion in Cruise. The investment will bring Cruise's valuation to $30 billion.

Microsoft will be GM's preferred public cloud provider to accelerate its digitization initiatives. The tech giant and the automaker will also collaborate in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and storage. The companies will explore opportunities to streamline operations across digital supply chains, foster productivity, and bring new mobility services to customers faster.

GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said, “Microsoft is a great addition to the team as we drive toward a future world of zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion."

Barra is very optimistic about Microsoft's ability to help accelerate the commercialization of Cruise's all-electric, self-driving vehicle.

GM plans to launch 30 new electric vehicles globally by 2025. The automaker also plans to create new businesses and services to boost its growth.

On the other hand, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “Advances in digital technology are redefining every aspect of our work and life, including how we move people and good. As Cruise and GM’s preferred cloud, we will apply the power of Azure to help them scale and make autonomous transportation mainstream.”

Have a story you want USA Herald to cover? Submit a tip here and if we think it’s newsworthy, we’ll follow up on it.

Want to contribute a story? We also accept article submissions – check out our writer’s guidelines here.