PITTSBURGH — About 550 former Argo AI employees have been hired on by Ford Motor Co. to oversee the buildout of Latitude AI, a new Pittsburgh-based subsidiary of Ford to develop advanced hands-free driving features for vehicles.
The establishment of Latitude AI by Ford (NYSE: F) brings a conclusion to the fate of one of Pittsburgh’s most promising tech startups after Ford and Volkswagen AG, the main backers of Argo, announced they’d no longer support the independent venture back in October 2022. That led to Argo’s abrupt shutdown.
It was also during this time that Ford announced it would refocus its funding efforts for autonomous driving, pivoting from advanced L4 automated driver tech being made by Argo to internally developed and less advanced L2 and L3 driver-assistance technology. Ford reported a $2.7 billion non-cash, pretax impairment from its investment in Argo, leading the company to an $827 million net loss for its Q3 2022.
But shortly after Argo’s shutdown, Ford hinted at the possibility of exploring an outpost in Pittsburgh to continue this work. It also said it would onboard a then-undefined number of Argo employees to help carry out these objectives.
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