Argo AI

2022

Bankruptcy declaration

On October 26, 2022, it became known that the startup Argo AI, which was developing technologies for autonomous vehicles, was ceasing operations. The company, founded in 2016, is forced to report bankruptcy: one of the reasons is the inability to attract further investments.

In 2017, Argo AI received $1 billion for development. Support for the startup, which had high hopes, was provided by such auto giants as Ford and Volkswagen. However, Ford, in its report on activities in the third quarter of 2022, announced that it will henceforth focus on the development of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS), and not on autopilot technologies, which can become the basis of robotic taxis. Ford talks about impairment of its investment in Argo AI before tax in the amount of $2.7 billion.

Argo AI filed for bankruptcy. Ford and Volkswagen money didn't help

Volkswagen, in turn, also plans to reallocate resources and stop investing in Argo AI. The German auto giant intends to develop highly automated and autonomous driving systems with Bosch through its Cariad division, and in the future with Horizon Robotics in China.

In agreement with our shareholders, it was decided that Argo AI would not continue its mission as a company. Many employees will have the opportunity to continue working on automated driving technologies at either Ford or Volkswagen, but the employment of others will unfortunately end, Argo AI said in a statement.

Argo AI workers will receive severance pay, which includes insurance and two bonuses - an annual reward and payment for signing an agreement with Ford or Volkswagen. Those who will be out of work can expect additional severance pay.^[1]

October layoff of 1,800 staff

Number of layoffs at tech companies in 2022

Cars without drivers began driving along the streets of Miami and Austin

In May 2022, fully self-driving cars (without drivers in the cab) began driving along Austin and Miami streets in the United States. This was announced by Argo AI, which received appropriate permits from local authorities.

By May 2022, the startup is also testing its autopilot in Pittsburgh, Washington Detroit Palo Alto,,,. Munich Hamburg The company is introducing autonomous driving technology that includes, lidar sensors and mapping software in cars and, Ford hence Volkswagen Argo AI is supported by these two automakers.

Cars without drivers began driving along the streets of Miami and Austin

Argo AI claims that its service coverage is 2 million Americans, and the ultimate goal is to reach more than 15 million customers who will regularly use autonomous vehicle services. Self-driving cars in Austin and Miami will operate under Argo AI's partnership with delivery car service Lyft and delivery service Walmart, offering driverless taxi rides and autonomous grocery delivery, respectively.

{{quote "From the very first day we intended to overcome the most difficult km in several cities, because this is where the density of consumer demand is. The importance of self-driving cars in the future of smart cities is clear. All AI technologies you've heard of or haven't heard of are being tested in real cities, "said Argo AI CEO and founder Brian Salesky. }} Argo AI said the company developed a safety certificate with TUV SUD to evaluate its autonomous driving technology for the vehicle. Under Texas law, vehicles equipped with an automatic control system that can move without human involvement must have video cameras installed, and manufacturers can be held liable for collisions or traffic violations.^[2]

2021: Free taxi without drivers launched in California

In late July 2021, Argo AI, a developer of autonomous vehicle technology with investments from Ford and Volkswagen, was granted a permit in California that would allow the company to ride people in its self-driving cars on public roads for free across the state.

The California Public Utilities Commission issued a so-called Driven AV pilot permit in early July of the month of 2021, according to an approved statement. It was published on its website on July 30, 2021, just over a week after Argo and Ford announced plans to launch at least 1,000 autonomous cars on the Lyft network over the next five years in a number of cities, while only a couple are known, these are Miami and Austin.

Free taxi without drivers appears in California

The permit, which is part of the state's Autonomous Passenger Vehicle Service pilot, puts Argo in a small and growing group of companies looking to move beyond traditional autonomous vehicle testing. Argo has been testing its autonomous vehicle technology on Ford vehicles around Palo Alto since early 2019. As of July 31, 2021, the company's test fleet in California has about 13 self-driving test cars.

Aurora, AutoX, Cruise, Deeproute, Pony.ai, Voyage, Zoox and Waymo have been granted permission to participate in the CPUC pilot program to provide autonomous vehicle services, which requires the presence of a human operator at the wheel. Companies with this permit cannot charge travel fees.

Getting a driving permit from the CPUC is only part of the road to commercialization in California. The state requires companies to pass a number of regulatory hurdles from the CPUC and the California Department of Motor Vehicles because each agency has its own tiered permit system before they can charge for robotaxi rides without a human operator behind the wheel.

The following permit allows driverless testing and then permission to deploy for commercial use. Allowing driverless testing, where no human operator is behind the wheel, was a new milestone and a must-have for companies that want to launch a commercial robotaxis or delivery service in the state. AutoX,, Baidu Cruise,, Nuro Pony.ai, Waymo, WeRide and Zoox have driverless driving permits in the DMV.

Previously, the CPUC authorized two pilot programs to carry passengers in autonomous vehicles. Driven Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service Pilot, which Argo has just secured. The CPUC's second pilot project makes it possible to provide ride-hailing services without drivers, which Cruise will anchor in June 2021.

Importantly, in order to achieve the cherished goal and enter the new market for commercial robotaxis, companies must obtain all these approvals from DMV and CPUC.^[3]

2020: $2.6 billion investment from Volkswagen

At the end of May 2020, Volkswagen closed a deal to invest $2.6 billion in Argo Al. Under the terms of the agreement, the developer of technologies for self-driving cars will be part of the division of the German concern Autonomous Intelligent Driving, which is based in Munich and is estimated at $1.6 billion under the deal. Autonomous Intelligent Driving employs more than 2 thousand employees.

Argo AI has its headquarters  in Europe in Munich, and  the startup's staff will increase by more than 1,000 people as a result of the deal .

Volkswagen invested $2.6 billion in self-driving car developer

Argo AI also has  offices in Detroit, Palo Alto and Cranbury (N.J.). By the end of May 2020, the company is conducting tests on public roads in Austin, Miami, Washington and other US cities.

Volkswagen became the second auto giant after Ford to decide to invest in Argo Al. Before the crisis caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Ford planned to spend a total of $4 billion on the development of its autonomous vehicle and release such a car together with Argo AI in 2021. However, the dates were postponed to 2022. Volkswagen will buy Argo Al's stake from Ford within three years, paying $500 million for the shares.

This news not only strengthens our well-capitalized position, but also makes the only supplier of a technology platform for unmanned vehicles that cooperate and have concluded commercial contracts for their launch in the United States and Europe, said Argo CEO Brian Salesky and Argo Munich office president Reinhard Stolle.

Ford executives said in a separate statement that the deal would "better serve our future customers as well as improve cost and capital efficiency."^[4]

2017

Attracting scientists from Carnegie Mellon and Georgia universities

The development of reliable and safe autonomous cars requires a constant expansion of the boundaries of what is possible in the field of information technology and artificial intelligence. The drone company Argo AI, whose main shareholder is Ford, uses the latest technologies in the field of computer vision and machine learning. However, the most advanced research is carried out within the walls of institutes and universities.

Therefore, Argo AI established ties with the academic community and engaged three scientists with unique competencies in the development of artificial intelligence for Ford. Associate professors from Carnegie Mellon University and Georgia Tech are developing basic technologies that will help autonomous cars see and interpret the world around them correctly, as well as predict the behavior of road users.

• Deva Ramanan, associate professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, conducts research in computer vision and machine learning. The main topic of the research of the scientist, whom the magazine Popular Science in 2012 named among the 10 outstanding researchers of the year, is the recognition of visual images. Ramanan teaches computer programs to "see" people by highlighting individual parts of the body and comparing them with an accumulated database of digital models, including both people and other objects of the material world.
• Simon Lucey, also an assistant professor at the Institute of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon, heads the CI2CV Computer Vision Laboratory. His area of ​ ​ research includes training computers to extract geometric information from static images and videos, as well as correct "understanding" by programs of facial expressions, movements and poses of a person.
• James Hays is an assistant professor in the School of Interactive Computing at the University of Georgia, where he uses data collected from all over the Internet and crowd-sourcing to improve computer understanding of image situations and better image synthesis and processing algorithms.

Lucy, Ramanan and Hayes will combine work at Argo AI headquarters with research activities at universities, which will also be sponsored by Argo. Earlier, Argo AI management announced the acquisition of Princeton Lightwave, a company developing LiDAR optical radars for commercial use. Scanning lidars create a two- or three-dimensional map of the surrounding space, allowing autonomous cars to more accurately navigate the urban environment and in difficult weather conditions.

Ford investment

In the period 2017-2022, Ford Motor Company will invest $1 billion in Argo AI, an artificial intelligence company, in order to develop a virtual autonomous car control system that the brand will bring to the market by 2021, as well as the potential sale of a technology license to other companies^[5].

Argo AI is founded by former Google and Uber managers and will bring together engineers and robotics specialists working in autonomous technology both at Ford and outside the company. The team of robotics and artificial intelligence experts is led by Argo AI founders Brian Saleski, CEO, and Peter Render, the company's SOO. Both are graduates of Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center and previously led self-driving car development at Google and Uber, respectively.

Ford's current team working on a virtual control system - machine learning-based software that will become the "brain" of autonomous cars - will be boosted by robotics specialists at Argo AI. This innovative partnership will lead the development of a virtual autonomous vehicle control system for Ford drones that will meet the SAE Category 4 classification.

Ford will continue to lead the development of a hardware platform for an autonomous car, system integration, production, exterior and interior design, and legal issues.

Argo AI will join forces with Ford in developing software for autonomous cars, which should speed up the organization of mass production of self-driving cars. The flexibility of Argo AI and the scale of Ford will allow this union to take all the best from the tech startup and experience of the automaker leading in drone development.

Ford will become the majority shareholder of Argo AI. At the same time, the company will retain significant independence. Its employees will have a significant share of the shares, which will allow them to share its success with the company. Argo AI's board will include five people: Raj Nair; John Caseza, Ford's vice president of global strategy; Brian Saleski; Peter Render and independent director.