Why Ford And VW Shut Down Their Multi-Billion Dollar Self-Driving Project

Ford invested $1 billion in self-driving startup Argo AI in 2017, and Volkswagen joined with a $2.6 billion investment 2 years later. It was an attempt to match rivals such as Uber, Tesla and Google. At its height, Argo AI was reportedly valued at $12.4 billion. But in 2022 Argo AI shut down. Ford said the it didn't attract new investors, and that profitability was "a long way off". Both automakers are spending big in electrification - $50 billion in Ford's case and more than three times that in VW's case. VW still pursued autonomous driving projects for commercial uses, and Ford focused on more modest L2 and L3 driver assistance technology.

Chapters:
0:00 — Introduction
01:21— Argo A.I.
04:14 — Why did it fail?
08:24 — Mobility doesn't pay
10:33 — The future

Producer: Robert Ferris
Editor: Jacob Harrell
Senior Managing Producer: Tala Hadavi
Graphics: Jason Reginato, Christina Locopo, Mallory Brangan

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Why Ford And VW Shut Down Their Multi-Billion Dollar Self Driving Project