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.
Now, many of these former Argo workers will continue their careers in the autonomous vehicle industry, a sector that's been rocked in recent months as investors, like Ford, have lost patience in the multi-years-long and expensive commercial development of these technologies by independent companies.
Latitude will operate out of the same office occupied by Argo at 2545 Railroad St. in the Strip District.
With Latitude, Ford is hoping to further improve its advanced driver assistance technology called BlueCruise, which allows drivers in select Ford vehicles to take a hands-off approach to driving along many major highways and roads across the country so long as these drivers keep their eyes on the road, which the vehicle can monitor with driver-facing cameras. Eventually, Ford envisions that Latitude will develop a hands-free and eyes-off-the-road automated driving system for millions of its vehicles in the coming years.
"We see automated driving technology as an opportunity to redefine the relationship between people and their vehicles," Doug Field, chief advanced product development and technology officer at Ford, said in a press release. "Customers using BlueCruise are already experiencing the benefits of hands-off driving. The deep experience and talent in our Latitude team will help us accelerate the development of all-new automated driving technology – with the goal of not only making travel safer, less stressful and more enjoyable, but ultimately over time giving our customers some of their day back."
Sammy Omari, executive director of ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) Technologies at Ford, has been tapped to serve as the CEO of Latitude. Peter Carr will serve as chief technology officer, and David Gollob is the subsidiary's president. Carr and Gollob are both former Argo employees, as Carr was a former senior staff engineer, while Gollob was the senior vice president of vehicle programs.
"We believe automated driving technology will help improve safety while unlocking all-new customer experiences that reduce stress and in the future will help free up a driver’s time to focus on what they choose," Omari said in the release. "The expertise of the Latitude team will further complement and enhance Ford’s in-house global ADAS team in developing future driver assist technologies, ultimately delivering on the many benefits of automation."
In addition to Pittsburgh, Latitude will maintain engineering hubs in Dearborn, Michigan (where Ford is headquartered), and Palo Alto, California, both former Argo outposts. It will also operate a highway-grade test track facility in Greenville, South Carolina.
