The investment will bring the valuation of Cruise to $30 billion and make Microsoft an official partner.
But in the long run, Microsoft stands to gain more from the deal.
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For instance, the companyscomputer visionservice runs on machine learning models developed by the companys engineers.
The models were trained using the companys vast store of image data.
Many companies use Microsofts Cognitive Services APIs to integrate AI capabilities into their applications.
There are a few ways companies overcome these challenges.
Google developed its own self-driving car lab in the late 2000s, which it later renamed Waymo.
Waymo develops AI software and hardware for autonomous driving.
But Google had a head start, which allowed it to create its own self-driving car unit from scratch.
Other companies that entered the field later made up for their tardiness by acquiring self-driving car startups.
Examples includeAmazons acquisition of Zooxand Intels acquisition ofMobileEye.
Tesla is among the few who have a complete self-driving car stack.
The electric carmaker has autonomous driving technology integrated into its electric vehicles.
It also has millions of sold cars that are constantly collecting fresh data to further enhance its algorithms.
Apple also has plans to manufactureits own self-driving car, though the full details have yet to emerge.
Microsoft approach to the self-driving car industry is different.
We partner across the industry.
These startups can become potential Microsoft partners in the future.
Cruise is the second self-driving car company Microsoft is partnering with.
Microsoft also has partnerships with several carmakers to provide them with cloud services.
Every year, were missing new deadlines on having fully autonomous cars on roads.
We also dont know what the final technology will look like.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes thatcomputer vision alone will be enough to reach full autonomy.
Other companies are banking on lidar technology becoming more affordable and stable in the future.
Car design will also undergo changes as the industry matures.
Another issue is the regulations of self-driving cars.
Will self-driving cars be allowed to share the road with human drivers?
Will they only be allowed in specific, geo-fenced areas?
How will culpability be determined in case of accidents?
And this is why Microsofts strategy of not acquiring startups will protect the company against the industrys volatility.
Any of them can become breakthrough solutions in the future.
This will be very crucial if and when Microsoft considers making a more serious move in developing self-driving cars.
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