hybrid2bev

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Argo AI, an autonomous vehicle startup that burst on the scene in 2017 stacked with a $1 billion investment, is shutting down — its parts being absorbed into its two main backers: Ford and VW, according to people familiar with the matter.

During an all-hands meeting Wednesday, Argo AI employees were told that some people would receive offers from the two automakers, according to multiple sources who asked to not be named. It was unclear how many would be hired into Ford or VW and which companies will get Argo’s technology.

“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,” Argo said in a statement.

Ford made the decision because “large-scale profitable commercialization of Level 4 advanced driver assistance systems will be further out than originally anticipated,” the company stated. Although it should be noted that Level 4, a term used by SAE to describe a level of autonomy, are not advanced driver assistance systems.

Ford went on to state that the “development and customer enthusiasm for benefits of L2+ and L3 ADAS warrant dialing up the company’s near-term aspirations and commitment in those areas.”

More at the source:
https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/26/ford-vw-backed-argo-ai-is-shutting-down/

Ford is going to devote more resources to delivering nearer-term customer benefits with L2+ and L3 ADAS, like Ford BlueCruise and Lincoln ActiveGlide.
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Jimrpa

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Well, unfortunate, but not surprising. Look at how long other companies (*cough* Apple *cough*) have been trying to solve this problem. And what does Apple have to show for it? CarPlay and CarKey 🥱
 

voxel

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Good riddance.

The arrogant/dumb VW CEO Herbert Diess trotted them out last winter at a VW streamed event and proclaimed they would revolutionize self-driving. Diess is gone and Argo folds. Sorry but I don't believe in the current state of Machine Learning to be good enough to handle exception riddled self-driving.

More development into BlueCruise then better though.
 

TheBraydenKyle

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That’s a shame. I wonder if I’ll continue to see them testing around Austin once they change things up. It’s entertaining seeing them around town.
 

newmme

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Disappointing. Big failure, and billions of wasted money.
 


timbop

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"autonomous driving is hard"
 

Mike G

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Disappointing. Big failure, and billions of wasted money.
Hang on...nobody said they didn't learn things in the process. So you can't say it was a total waste. They must have gotten something out of it, they just are to a point where the tech is probably too expensive to implement at this point (and they ran out of chips cause the robot is on "chip-hold").
 

macchiaz-o

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Hang on...nobody said they didn't learn things in the process. So you can't say it was a total waste. They must have gotten something out of it, they just are to a point where the tech is probably too expensive to implement at this point (and they ran out of chips cause the robot is on "chip-hold").
I'll be listening for Alex Roy's take on this on Autonocast.

Based on his replies and most especially his reactions to posts, it seems like newmme is only here to promote negativity towards Ford and spread the Good Word as a Stan of his favorite Twitter follow.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/members/newmme.9976/#latest-activity
 

HuntingPudel

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The technology is insanely difficult, as is being proven by many companies who are working on it. It is just unfortunate to hear that people will be losing jobs. ☹🐩
 

Blue highway

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Hang on...nobody said they didn't learn things in the process. So you can't say it was a total waste. They must have gotten something out of it, they just are to a point where the tech is probably too expensive to implement at this point (and they ran out of chips cause the robot is on "chip-hold").
expensive lessons.

Prediction: autonomous driving on rural controlled interstates will happen because the environment is more predictable than uncontrolled access roads and there is a potential market... trucking.

autonomous driving in neighborhoods and urban streets will not happen in a meaningfully commercial way for 20 years because the market is different, the risks (both physical and legal) are much higher, and the tech will take a few generations to be deemed worth the risks.

When an autonomous car runs over a child on a bicycle... that company is done.
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