GM’s ‘Cruise’ is Set to Launch More Robotaxi Operations in Austin and Phoenix
General Motors’ autonomous vehicle technology unit, Cruise, is set to launch its commercial robotaxi service in Austin and Phoenix before the end of 2022. Cruise’s robotaxi service already operates in San Francisco between 10:00 PM and 5:30 AM. GM is hoping that its West Coast experience will help it expand into more urban centers across the country. Austin and Phoenix are hot spots for autonomous vehicle development. It took Cruise only three weeks to get all the necessary permits to launch, compared to 33 months for San Francisco.
Kyle Vogt, Cruise’s CEO and co-founder, is aiming to generate $1 billion in revenue by 2025. The Austin and Phoenix operations will initially be small “revenue generating” endeavours with the intention of scaling up in 2023. Amidst this planned growth is a generally pessimistic market of investors who have been skeptical of large scale, publicly accessible autonomous taxi systems. However, Vogt thinks the public will become bullish about autonomous vehicles once they experience them: “I think people are going to be caught off guard by how quickly AVs (autonomous vehicles) go from the first ride that you've taken to available pretty much everywhere.”
Cruise closed its second quarter of 2022 with $25 million in revenue while its expenses increased to $550 million from $332 million in Q2 of 2021. Plans to keep expenses down are already in motion; the company is developing robots to clean and charge cars. Cruise is also developing custom chips that can allegedly reduce power consumption and system costs.
Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/@gieling
Authors
Expertise
Insights
-
Technology
Google’s Next Chapter in Wearable Health Tech: The Google Fitbit Air
Another day, another wearable technology product is hitting the market, but this one arrives with the weight of Google behind it and a price designed to undercut the competition.Back in January… -
Technology
Canada Proposes an Under-16 Social Media Ban
The Canadian federal government recently introduced the Safe Social Media Act in Parliament. If the bill is successful, Canadian children under the age of 16 will no longer be able to have accounts on… -
Technology
Whoop and the Wearable Health Market
In March 2026, Whoop Inc. (“Whoop”) completed a Series G funding round for US$575 million, valuing the leading fitness wearable company at US$10.1 billion. Whoop received investment from many notable… -
Technology
The Smartest World Cup Yet: Inside FIFA’s Latest Officiating Innovations
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will showcase some of the most advanced officiating technology ever used in soccer. Building on systems introduced in previous tournaments, FIFA is rolling out new tools… -
Technology
Betting on the Future: How Prediction Markets Are Changing Everything
Recently, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (“CIRO”) approved Wealthsimple to offer forecast contracts. Forecast contracts are investment products that offer investors binary “yes” or… -
Technology
Four Legal Takeaways from the Proposed Canadian Social Media Legislation
On June 10, 2026, the federal government introduced Bill C-34, also known as the Safe Social Media Act. The proposed legislation represents a sweeping effort to regulate social media platforms…