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autonomous vehicles

Ford, VW-backed Argo AI is shutting down • ZebethMedia

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. Employees were told they would receive a severance package that includes insurance, a transaction bonus and termination pay. Several people told ZebethMedia that it was a generous package and that the founders of the company spoke directly to its more than 2,000 workforce. ZebethMedia will update this story with official comment. Argo was founded in 2016 by Bryan Salesky and Pete Rander. The company came out of stealth in February 2017 when Ford announced it would invest $1 billion over five years into Argo. Since then, the company has raised more than $2.6 billion, primarily from Ford and VW, in a pursuit to develop, test and eventually commercialize its automated driving system. The initial Ford investment came at a particularly hype-y time for the nascent autonomous vehicle industry. Startups, many founded by early pioneers of Google’s self-driving project, were landing eye-popping venture capital deals. A string of acquisitions followed: GM bought Cruise for $1 billion in 2016; Delphi, which is now Aptiv, acquired nuTonomy for $450 million; and Amazon bought Zoox. The promises around commercializing AV technology have proven more difficult than expected. A wave of consolidation washed over the industry with companies folding, being absorbed into other companies, including Apple, and others turning to SPACs in hopes of gaining the capital it needs to continue its mission. Argo seemed to be gaining ground in the past year.  The company’s self-driving Ford Fusion vehicles, and now Ford Escape Hybrids, were frequently seen testing on public roads in Austin, Detroit, Miami, Palo Alto and Pittsburgh, where it is headquartered. In the EU, Argo was using the all-electric Volkswagen ID Buzz for its testing programs in Hamburg and Munich. Argo also has several pilot programs underway in Austin, Miami and Pittsburgh with Lyft, Walmart and 412 Food Rescue. And just last month the company revealed an ecosystem of products and services designed to support commercial delivery and robotaxi operations. The products — a list that includes fleet management software, data analytics, high-definition mapping and cloud-based communication tools — stretches far beyond the self-driving system that allows a vehicle to navigate city streets without a human driver behind the wheel. Argo appeared to be telling the world it was open for business. This story is developing …

Lyft co-founder says autonomous vehicles won’t replace drivers for at least a decade • ZebethMedia

Human drivers on the Lyft platform aren’t going to be replaced by autonomous vehicles anytime soon, company co-founder and president John Zimmer told the audience today at ZebethMedia Disrupt. “I can’t imagine anytime in the next decade-plus where we would need any less drivers,” he said. While Zimmer envisions autonomous vehicles handling some percentage of rides — anywhere from 1% to 10%, he said — the reality is that trips taken using Lyft represent a tiny fraction of all miles traveled. “What we do in our industry represents maybe 1% of vehicle miles traveled,” he said. “There’s much more room for growth of our overall business.” Over the past decade, more than 112 million Lyft riders have taken over 3 billion rides, and 5 million drivers — “3% of the U.S. workforce,” Zimmer said — had earned tens of billions of dollars. In his talk with transportation editor Kirsten Korosec, Zimmer was hesitant to commit to a timeline on which he thinks autonomous vehicles will enter into broader commercial service. “I always think it’s just a couple years away,” he said, “but it’s super hard to predict. It’s this last percent of a technical problem, and then you have to get the cost down for autonomous vehicles. So it will happen. I strongly believe it’s not a matter of if, but obviously when.” Should it happen, Zimmer thinks that the initial rollout is likely to occur on platforms like Lyft. The best way to commercialize autonomous vehicles, he said, is on a “hybrid network.” Though autonomous vehicles have progressed in their capabilities, they’re still unable to handle every condition they’ll encounter on the roads. Even if they are able to safely navigate 10% of trips, that’s not a sufficient number to bring riders on board en masse. “Imagine being on AT&T or Verizon and making one out of 10 calls. That would not be a good network to be on. Being on the Lyft network, you’ll be able to get ten out of 10 rides. One might be an autonomous vehicle with one of our partners, nine are going to be from our driver community. And so I think what we do is super important and can flex as that technology is ready.” Lyft’s autonomous vehicle strategy has changed significantly in the last year or so. In April 2021, the company sold its self-driving unit to Toyota’s Woven Planet subsidiary for $550 million, saving the company $100 million annually in operating expenses. In place of that, Zimmer said the company has been prioritizing partnerships over internal development. “I think it’s too early to pick one winner,” he said. “Today, it’s about having multiple partners. Ten years from now? Too hard to predict.” While the Lyft network may not have fully autonomous vehicles anytime soon, many of its drivers today are potentially augmented by Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems, known as ADAS, including Tesla’s Autopilot and possibly its Full Self Driving software. While these systems can help drivers in some ways, in some cases, over reliance on them has created perilous, even deadly, situations. When Korosec asked him asked whether Lyft had considered prohibiting the use of Level 2 ADAS like Autopilot or FSD, Zimmer said that Lyft “think[s] that the regulatory bodies are our best regulators when it comes to that level of safety.” Of course, in its terms of service, Lyft already regulates its drivers in some respects, including saying that drivers cannot “engage in reckless behavior while driving” or “operate a vehicle that is unsafe to drive.” When pressed, Zimmer said that Lyft would “continue to assess” its policy regarding driver use of Level 2 autonomous assistants. “Obviously, driver and rider safety is our top priority. And so to your point, it’s something that will continue to be looked at.”

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