Argo.ai shuts down – What will happen to its LiDAR unit?
Argo.ai, an autonomous vehicle (AV) unicorn, announced on October 26, 2022, that it would terminate operations across its locations in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, New Jersey and Munich. It impacts roughly 2100 employees and, more importantly, puts into focus the feasibility and business model for autonomous transportation on public roads. The company was founded in 2013 by alums of the 2006 DARPA Grand Challenge, Google, and Uber AV initiatives and secured significant backing and funding from Ford in 2017 ($1B) and later from Volkswagen in 2020 ($2.5B). Both investments occurred under the auspices of earlier CEOs, who have since been replaced (Ford CEO Jim Hacket in 2020 and Volkswagen CEO Herbert Deiss in 2022).