Argo AI is an autonomous vehicle startup that was backed by Ford and Volkswagen. It has laid off around 150 employees, as previously reported by Bloomberg The Wall Street Journal. The company’s rapid growth meant that the move was supposed to reverse this trend. During this period, it hired more people than it needed.
“With incredible growth and progress made in our mission to deploy driverless vehicles, we are making prudent adjustments to our business plan to best continue on a path for success,” Argo AI said in an emailed statement obtained by Bloomberg. The Verge reached out to Argo AI with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
As noted by WSJ, the layoffs make up about 6 percent of the Pittsburgh-based company’s 2,000-person team. Argo AI was established in 2016. by Bryan Salesky, the former head of hardware development for Google’s autonomous vehicles (AVs), and Peter Rander, who previously served as an engineering lead for Uber’s self-driving branch. Ford injected $1 billionVolkswagen followed up in 2017 with an acquisition of the company. $2.6 Billion investment2020
The company has been able to expand its AV business in many US cities, as well as abroad, thanks to this funding. Argo AI is currently in development. Fully autonomous cars tested in Miami and AustinPlans and Lyft partners with Lyft in both of these cities. It’s also teaming up with Walmart will launch a driverless delivery programIt is currently working to achieve its goal in Washington, D.C., Austin, Miami, and Austin. Volkswagen to launch an automated rideshare programGermany by 2025
