Elsewhere, General Motors (GM) has shelled out $1bn to acquire Cruise Automation, a company focused on developing the software that powers self-driving cars. The deal is worth a lot more than a recent valuation, which put Cruise at around $90m following an $18m funding round. Evidently, GM sees a lot of promise in the start-up. The buyout followed talks of an investment in the company, but reports say that the discussions quickly moved to a takeover. The move will add Cruise to GM’s recently founded Autonomous Vehicle Department – incorporating the experience that Cruise has gathered during testing that began in San Francisco back in 2013. The buy follows GM’s recent alliance with Lyft, which saw GM invest $500m in…