GM to provide $2 billion to Cruise self-driving unit this year

During General Motors' first-quarter earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said that Cruise, its autonomous driving subsidiary, is expected to spend $2 billion this year. Neither Cruise nor GM provided detailed information on the specific use of the $2 billion.

Cruise aims to start mass production of its dedicated Origin AV in 2023, so foreign technology media TechCrunch can expect that a large part of the funds will be used for this purpose, as well as overall expansion.

Cruise has not made any money for GM so far. In the first quarter of this year, Cruise spent $300 million, a figure that does not include $1.1 billion in compensation expenses for Cruise's recurring liquidity opportunity program for employees. In the first quarter of 2021, Cruise spent $200 million.

GM believes the heavy spending will eventually pay off. The automaker has said it expects Cruise to bring in $50 billion in annual revenue by the end of the decade. The company said this year's spending will help Cruise achieve more milestones and make progress toward commercialization.