Unleashing the potential of AI in robotics

GM will no longer fund Cruise’s robotaxi development

General Motors Co. today announced that it will no longer fund Cruise LLC’s robotaxi deployment work. It cited long development times, high costs, and an increasingly competitive robotaxi market as the reasons behind its decision. 

Since acquiring the self-driving startup in 2016, GM has poured more than $10 billion of funding into Cruise. In June, for example, GM invested another $850 million into the self-driving startup, despite it losing $3.48 billion in 2023.

Now, GM said it will combine the Cruise and GM technical teams into a single effort to advance autonomous and assisted driving. The companies have not determined how many of Cruise’s employees will move to GM with the change. 

“GM is committed to delivering the best driving experiences to our customers in a disciplined and capital-efficient manner,” stated Mary Barra, the chair and CEO of GM. “Cruise has been an early innovator in autonomy, and the deeper integration of our teams, paired with GM’s strong brands, scale, and manufacturing strength, will help advance our vision for the future of transportation.”

GM currently owns around 90% of Cruise and has agreements with other shareholders that will raise its ownership to 97%. It plans to acquire the remaining shares so it can restructure and refocus Cruise’s operations.

Universal Robots picks China for first overseas production facility

Universal Robots A/S is looking to significantly expand its presence in China, the world’s largest market for industrial robots. The world’s leading developer of collaborative robot arms is opening a production facility there and introducing two robots that will be available exclusively to the Chinese market.

To meet increasing Chinese demand, Universal Robots (UR) has established manufacturing capabilities in Nantong, China. The company will produce two new cobots for that market: the UR7e and UR12e. Details on the robots are scarce at the moment, and they aren’t listed on UR’s website.

UR told The Robot Report that the UR7e has a 7.5 kg (16.5 lb.) payload and a reach of 850 mm (33.4 in.), while the UR12e has a 12.5kg (27.5 lb.) payload and a 1,300 mm (51.1 in.) reach.

UR said the specification of these models has been “specifically chosen to meet the needs of China’s automotive, electronic, and metal & machinery industries alongside others.”

Embodied in financial trouble

• Reportedly, critical financing didn’t come through for Embodied, the creators of the Moxie robot, forcing the company to shut down. This story was sourced from various social media posts from current and prior employees. The Robot Report reached out to the company for comment but received no response as of press time. The company has posted a FAQ document on its website.