Ford to invest $1 bn in AI start-up to create autonomous vehicle

The Dollar Business Bureau

US multinational auto maker, Ford said that it will invest about $1 billion in the next five years in an artificial intelligence (AI) start-up with the purpose of creating an autonomous vehicle by 2021.

The auto giant will take a majority share in the Argo AI, an artificial intelligence firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, which was founded in 2016 by former employees of Google and Uber.

The venture will hire leading engineers and ‘roboticists’ for developing a system of ‘virtual driver’, described by officials of Ford as the ‘brain’ of autonomous vehicle.

Raj Nair, Executive Vice President of Ford, said that the setup is aimed to give the company a head start on its counterparts in the competition for commercialising the autonomous vehicles.

“It will have the "speed and nimbleness of a startup, but also integrated into a full production development team,” he added.

Research in the direction of full autonomy has now moved above the research phase, however there still has the need for a tremendous jump between the now available driver-assisted technology and the full autonomy, Nair said.

The employees of Argo AI will have a minority share in the new venture and the structure is aimed at luring top engineers.

This investment would help Ford to realise its earlier announced plan to launch an autonomous vehicle for ride-sharing or ride-hailing service in 2021, Ford said.

Argo AI is planning to hire over 200 people at sites in Michigan, Pittsburgh and Silicon Valley, as per a press release.

Argo AI and other proponents of autonomous driving claim that it could make the roads safer and bring mobility to the elderly people and others.