DETROIT -- General Motors is acquiring a California technology company that sells an aftermarket, roof-mounted autonomous-driving kit, the latest in a string of investments by GM in startups involved in alternative modes of mobility.

GM said in a statement today that it’s acquiring San Francisco-based Cruise Automation for its “deep software talent and rapid development capability to further accelerate” GM’s development of autonomous vehicles. GM didn’t disclose terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter. Founded in 2013 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology dropout Kyle Vogt, Cruise Automation last year began selling an aftermarket system that it claims can be installed on some late-model Audis to switch them into autopilot mode in highway driving. The $10,000 system uses roof-mounted radar sensors and other detection hardware that relay signals to in-car actuators to control the vehicle’s steering, brakes and throttle.  MORE ...

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