Ford Motor, a global automotive and mobility company, will be investing $1bn in Argo AI, a US-based artificial intelligence company, to develop a virtual driver system for its autonomous vehicle coming in 2021.

Argo AI was established by former Google and Uber employees Bryan Salesky, and Peter Rander.

Ford’s virtual driver system is the machine-learning software that acts as the brain of autonomous vehicles.

As part of the deal, the current team developing Ford’s virtual driver system will be combined with Argo AI's robotics talent and expertise.

Ford president and CEO Mark Fields said: “The next decade will be defined by the automation of the automobile, and autonomous vehicles will have as significant an impact on society as Ford’s moving assembly line did 100 years ago.

“As Ford expands to be an auto and a mobility company, we believe that investing in Argo AI will create significant value for our shareholders by strengthening Ford’s leadership in bringing self-driving vehicles to market in the near term and by creating technology that could be licensed to others in the future.”

The new partnership will be working towards development of the virtual driver system for Ford’s SAE level 4 self-driving vehicles.

Ford will focus on the development of its purpose-built autonomous vehicle design, hardware platform, systems integration, manufacturing and regulatory policy management.

Argo AI will be working with Ford’s autonomous vehicle software development team to strengthen the commercialisation of self-driving vehicles.

Argo AI CEO Bryan Salesky said: “We are at an inflection point in using artificial intelligence in a wide range of applications, and the successful deployment of self-driving cars will fundamentally change how people and goods move.

“We are energised by Ford’s commitment and vision for the future of mobility, and we believe this partnership will enable self-driving cars to be commercialised and deployed at scale to extend affordable mobility to all.”

By the end of this year, Argo AI anticipates to have a team of approximately 200 members at its headquarters in Pittsburgh as well at its major sites in Southeastern Michigan and the Bay Area of California.

"The next decade will be defined by the automation of the automobile, and autonomous vehicles will have as significant an impact on society as Ford’s moving assembly line did 100 years ago."

Ford executive Global Product Development vice-president and chief technical officer Raj Nair said: “Working together with Argo AI gives Ford a distinct competitive advantage at the intersection of the automotive and technology industries.

“This open collaboration is unlike any other partnership, allowing us to benefit from combining the speed of a startup with Ford’s strengths in scaling technology, systems integration and vehicle design.”

Initially, Argo AI’s will be focusing on the Ford’s autonomous vehicle development and production, and in the future it intends to explore new options to license its technology to other companies.

Image:Peter Rander, Argo AI COO; Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO; Bryan Salesky, Argo AI CEO; and Raj Nair, Ford executive vice president, Product Development, and chief technical officer. Photo: courtesy of The Ford Motor Company.