3 ms·

Well the fact they are getting funding from Honda says Economy of scale and bigger r&d with a shared platform is better than getting out innovated by Uber/goog

Well the fact they are getting funding from Honda says Economy of scale and bigger r&d with a shared platform is better than getting out innovated by Uber/google

echelon 8y ago
Why would Honda invest in a company 80% controlled by a competitor? Why would GM let Honda invest?
- thenewwazoo 8y ago
  https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/3/17931786/gm-cruise-honda-investment-self-driving-car https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/3/17931786/gm-cruise-honda-...
  - perfunctory 8y ago
    I don’t think the article answers the question.
- govg 8y ago
  Self driving right now is a moonshot for many of these companies, and competing with the resources that Google can throw at (both in terms of AI talent as well as sheer money) can be tough. Partnering with GM allows Honda a piece of this, allows for future adoption, and consolidates both of their revenues. If Cruise does become successful, the thought process might be that both Honda and GM obtain the tech therein, and differentiate themselves via other methods. Imagine this to be a new engine type that is too costly for just one manufacturer to research, and so they partner up with the implication that both get usage rights once the engine is done.
saalweachter 8y ago
Three advantages that jump out at me: 1. Stability for the project. A self-driving R&D project internal to a larger company risks getting killed over the N years it takes to do the work without any payoff. 2. The investment probably looks better on the parent corporations budgets. They aren't sinking billions of dollars into R&D, they're investing in a third party which is sinking billions into R&D. The shares might even look good, if non-liquid, on paper. 3. Segments liability away from the larger company. When all self-driving cars in the world make a left turn at the same time due to an obscure calendar bug, it's just GM Cruise that gets sued out of existence.
- thenewwazoo 8y ago
  It's also an easier sell to potential hires. You get RSUs in Cruise, not stock in GM, which a tech worker may not like the look of.

Well the fact they are getting funding from Honda says Economy of scale and bigger r&d with a shared platform is better than getting out innovated by Uber/google

echelon 8y ago

Why would Honda invest in a company 80% controlled by a competitor? Why would GM let Honda invest?

thenewwazoo 8y ago
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/3/17931786/gm-cruise-honda-investment-self-driving-car https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/3/17931786/gm-cruise-honda-...
- perfunctory 8y ago
  I don’t think the article answers the question.
govg 8y ago
Self driving right now is a moonshot for many of these companies, and competing with the resources that Google can throw at (both in terms of AI talent as well as sheer money) can be tough. Partnering with GM allows Honda a piece of this, allows for future adoption, and consolidates both of their revenues. If Cruise does become successful, the thought process might be that both Honda and GM obtain the tech therein, and differentiate themselves via other methods. Imagine this to be a new engine type that is too costly for just one manufacturer to research, and so they partner up with the implication that both get usage rights once the engine is done.

saalweachter 8y ago

Three advantages that jump out at me: 1. Stability for the project. A self-driving R&D project internal to a larger company risks getting killed over the N years it takes to do the work without any payoff. 2. The investment probably looks better on the parent corporations budgets. They aren't sinking billions of dollars into R&D, they're investing in a third party which is sinking billions into R&D. The shares might even look good, if non-liquid, on paper. 3. Segments liability away from the larger company. When all self-driving cars in the world make a left turn at the same time due to an obscure calendar bug, it's just GM Cruise that gets sued out of existence.

thenewwazoo 8y ago
It's also an easier sell to potential hires. You get RSUs in Cruise, not stock in GM, which a tech worker may not like the look of.