Ford commits $4 billion to develop autonomous vehicles

It seems that people can’t get by a single month without hearing some news or the other about autonomous cars. Recently, the American automotive giant Ford has committed a significant sum of money to gain an edge over other competitors. It plans to pump in a cool $4 billion in a newly conceived LLC that is completely focused on developing Ford’s autonomous vehicles division.

The Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC will house Ford’s entire autonomous vehicles division as well as its research and development center and business strategy teams. The $4 billion investment also includes Ford’s $1 billion investment in Argo AI, the start-up launched by former Google employee and its self-driving cars stalwart Bryan Salesky and the former engineering lead at Uber Advanced Technologies Group Peter Rander. The investment was first announced in early 2017. Additionally, the new LLC will be based out of Ford’s campus in Detroit. Moreover, Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC will also hold Ford’s investment in Argo AI.

Previously, all of Ford’s efforts towards autonomous vehicles were scattered throughout the organization and this new LLC suggests Ford’s focus on the consolidation of all the efforts towards the development and deployment of its self-driving cars. “Now is the right time to consolidate our autonomous driving platform into one team to best position the business for the opportunities ahead,” said Jim Hackett, the CEO of Ford.