In a statement to TechCrunch, the company said "In coordination with our shareholders, the decision has been made that Argo AI will not continue on its mission as a company. Many of the employees will receive an opportunity to continue work on automated driving technology with either Ford or Volkswagen, while employment for others will unfortunately come to an end."
Ford CEO Jim Farley said on Twitter that the decision to shutter Argo AI was related to a shift in focus towards Level 3 semi-autonomous driving systems. While he noted, "I have the greatest respect for the team at Argo AI and what they've accomplished," he said Ford's mission is to "change travel for the many rather than the few."
I have the greatest respect for the team at @ArgoAI & what they've accomplished. I’m excited we're going to bring in many of these brilliant people to @Ford to help us create a terrific L3 BlueCruise system that enables our customers to travel w/o their eyes on the road.
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) October 26, 2022
For their part, the Volkswagen Group said they're "consolidating" their autonomous driving efforts and will no longer invest in Argo AI. The company added, it is continuing to drive forward the development of highly automated and autonomous driving together with Bosch and, in the future, in China with Horizon Robotics. Volkswagen also noted the death of Argo AI isn't the end of their relationship with Ford, as all other collaborations will remain unchanged.
Argo AI was founded in 2013. It had brought in $3.6 billion in funding, according to Crunchbase. That included $1 billion over five years from Ford, which was announced in 2017, and $2.6 billion from VW, which was announced in 2020.
