SoftBank Bails on Cruise, Possibly In a Sign of the Times

If there’s one company that’s likely to be harder hit than most by the recent stock market upheaval, its Japanese investor SoftBank. Today’s news that SoftBank is selling out of the GM-controlled self-driving car unit Cruise, instead of investing more money as was expected just six weeks ago, might be an indication that SoftBank is feeling the heat.

Back in 2018, GM said SoftBank would invest $2.25 billion into Cruise, although the money would come in two tranches. While SoftBank put in $900 million not long after, it was supposed to make the second investment when Cruise’s driverless technology was ready to be rolled out commercially. Early last month, Cruise announced it had “hit the milestone” of operating fully driverless cars, indicating that it was awaiting the money from SoftBank.