🪦 Dead

Argo AI

Startup failed · Backers Pulled Out · shut down October 26, 2022

Born
Died
Lifespan
5y 11m
Cause of death
Backers Pulled Out
Killed by
Ford & Volkswagen
Type
Startup

Pittsburgh's self-driving champion, backed by roughly $1 billion from Ford and $2.6 billion from Volkswagen. Six years in, both backers decided that fully driverless cars were further away than they could keep paying for, declined to invest further, and absorbed its assets. Around 2,000 employees were offered jobs at the two carmakers; the company itself simply stopped.

Collateral damage: Roughly 2,000 staff were split between Ford and VW or let go; Ford took a $2.7B write-down.

Questions about Argo AI

Is Argo AI dead?

Yes. Argo AI was shut down on October 26, 2022, 5y 11m after its launch on December 1, 2016. The cause of death was backers pulled out; it was killed by Ford & Volkswagen. Classification: startup failed. Details and the source are above.