Argo Ai

Argo, founded in 2016 by Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, is now jointly controlled by Volkswagen and Ford Motor Co , which made an initial investment in Argo shortly after it was founded. Details of the Volkswagen investment, which does not include an agreement to purchase $500 million worth of Argo stock from Ford, was announced last July.

Ford's self-driving system, now being tested in Fusion Hybrid sedans, is being jointly developed with Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based startup in which Ford and Volkswagen AG together hold a majority stake. Sherif Marakby, chief executive of Ford Autonomous Vehicles, said Ford plans to launch the commercial transportation service in 2021 in a purpose-built hybrid vehicle that can be equipped to carry either people or goods.

Any investment could value Ford-backed Argo AI at $4 billion.

Open to AV investment, but 'we compete in a bunch of areas as well.

It envisions a universal signal to communicate what an AV is doing.

There's an awful lot to get done by 2021.

Ford says it wants 'Level 4' autonomous for its self-driving cars by 2021, but denies that engineers have been falling asleep behind the wheel during testing.

The company was founded by former Google and Uber employees.