- Argo AI, a self-driving company that spun out of Ford Motor Company, announced that it closed a $2.6 billion deal with Volkswagen AG
Argo AI, a self-driving company that spun out of Ford Motor Company, announced that it closed a $2.6 billion deal with Volkswagen AG. The tie-up between Argo AI, VW, and Ford Motor Company brings together a powerful consortium against rivals like GM’s subsidiary Cruise LLC (backed by Honda) and Way (backed by Alphabet and Silver Lake).
This deal was originally announced this past July. And it includes a $1 billion investment in the company along with the integration of VW’s Autonomous Intelligent Driving team in Argo (valued at $1.6 billion).
“The team in Munich brings an incredible wealth of talent, insight, and experience that we couldn’t be more excited about. We look forward to celebrating the establishment of Argo Munich, which will serve as our European headquarters,” said Bryan Salesky (CEO of Argo AI) and Reinhard Stolle (Vice President at Argo Munich). “Munich will become our fifth engineering center, building on Pittsburgh — our global headquarters — along with Detroit, Palo Alto, and Cranbury, N.J. We maintain fleet operations in Miami, Washington, D.C., and Austin.”
Before Argo’s partnership with VW, Ford committed a $1 billion investment in Argo AI. So far, Ford Motor Company put $400 million in the company and more will be added later, according to Argo AI communications director Alan Hall via Detroit News.
As part of the terms of the deal, Ford and VW will have equal minority stakes in Argo AI. And the rest is held by Argo employees. And Argo will develop a self-driving system that its partners can use for their own products.
Volkswagen is going to launch products built with Argo’s technology in the early 2020s.
