General Motors is investing $100 million into "General Motors Ventures," a venture capital firm working on a variety of start-up companies to help support innovative technologies.  The $100 million will act as the first investment into this project, with an expectation of investment in more companies.  According to the New York Times, GM spokeswoman Sherrie Childers-Arb said, "It allows the company to move quickly to make small investments in companies where we want to pursue a long-term technology that we think has potential for our customers." GM is clearly beginning to recognize the value in innovation which is absolutely necessary for America to maintain a global economic advantage and move forward as green, clean technology becomes increasingly important. Read more here.