Ford announced an investment in artificial-intelligence company Argo AI to foster development of its self-driving car technology.
Ford has already been testing self-driving car technology.
Ford announced today a $1 billion investment in machine-learning startup Argo AI. Through the agreement, Argo AI will work exclusively for Ford on the software brains to enable self-driving.
Ford previously announced it will offer a self-driving car by 2021 , although it would likely be limited to urban environments and be used by ride-hailing services as a kind of robo-taxi.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Argo AI is a new company dedicated to developing a software system to guide self-driving cars. CEO Bryan Salesky said of the investment that it would allow Argo AI to recruit the kind of talent needed to develop these systems.
Ford CEO Mark Fields said, “For accounting purposes, Argo AI will be a subsidiary of Ford, but have a lot of independence.
