Walmart Invests In Autonomous Vehicle Startup Cruise

As speedy delivery continues to be a point of differentiation for retailers, Walmart has invested an undisclosed sum into Cruise, the San Francisco-based autonomous vehicle company, according to a Thursday announcement. Cruise’s business model, technology, zero emissions goal and “unmatched” driverless testing attracted the retailer to the startup, according to John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. The funding will help Walmart develop a last-mile delivery ecosystem that’s scalable, fast and low-cost. The investment is part of Walmart’s overall effort to integrate self-driving cars into its business, per the announcement, and comes after a pilot with Cruise that began in November last year. Read more at Retail Dive.