VOLKSWAGEN AND FORD LIQUIDATE THE ARGO AI DRONE PROJECT

The startup, whose investors were well-known auto giants, decided to close. Argo AI has been developing drones for several years. However, now some of the organization's employees will go to work in the parent companies, while investors will be forced to part with others.

The news about the closure of the project affected the economic indicators of investors. For example, Ford's refusal to support Argo AI led to the depreciation of investments and losses of the auto giant for the third quarter. According to experts, they amounted to $827 million.

According to Ford CEO Jim Farley, the refusal to further finance the project is partly due to a change in priorities in favor of semi-autonomous driving systems.

Experts emphasize that this may mean that companies refuse to compete with the Hyper Cruise project, patented by General Motors (GM) last year.

It is curious that five years ago Ford called semi-autonomous driving systems practically useless. The developers noted that autopilots of the "third stage", requiring the driver to engage in transport management in emergency cases, lead to the fact that a person can simply fall asleep at the wheel. It was planned that a full-fledged autopilot would be created by 2021, but it was not possible to establish serial production.

Ford CEO noted that the company will work in the direction of differentiated L2+ and L3 systems that make it possible to secure the driving process as much as possible. At the same time, it was decided to reduce the investment in the development of the L4 driver assistance system.

Volkswagen, which has also stopped investing in Argo AI, intends to use its own digital developments of Cariad, continuing the development of autonomous piloting. In this direction, the company cooperates with Bosh and Horizon Robotics.

It is known that Argo AI employees, whom auto giants plan to hire, should receive annual bonuses and various bonuses when switching to a new job. Those who find themselves out of work, investors plan to pay an additional allowance.