Ford is placing a billion-dollar bet that a small Pittsburgh-based company will help it launch fully self-driving vehicles within the next four years.
The automaker said Friday it has acquired a majority stake in Argo AI, a startup focused on artificial intelligence that is headed by two executives who once worked on the Google and Uber self-driving-vehicle teams.
Ford CEO Mark Fields said the investment, spread over five years, will help Ford solidify its own self-driving system. Not only that, but there?s a possibility the companies eventually could license their technology for others to use.
?We think this has the potential to create significant value in the company,? he said. ?One, it allows us to bring autonomous vehicles to the marketplace in the near term, but even after that, there?s this ability to potentially license it to other OEMs. This is a way to get all the benefits and look at ways to unlock value in the investments that we make.?
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?There?s a possibility the companies eventually could license their technology for others to use.? ? Mark Fields, Ford CEO
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Ford has previously stated its intent to deliver Level 4 autonomous vehicles?those in which a driver?s supervision is not required?by the end of 2021.

Chief technology officer Raj Nair said a number of current Ford employees working on autonomous technology will become Argo employees. Employees working on the autonomous-vehicle platform are likely to stick with Ford; employees working on the virtual-d...