Self-driving startup Argo AI to shut down operations, Volkswagen and Ford to take over some employees

According to TechCrunch, self-driving startup Argo AI will shut down operations, and its employees and some parts will be taken over by its main backers Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG. Argo employees are understood to have been told that some of them would receive offers from Ford and Volkswagen, but it was unclear how many would go to Ford and Volkswagen, or lose their jobs. Ford has yet to comment, while Argo AI and Volkswagen declined to comment. Argo AI said in July that it had cut about 150 jobs as it adjusted its business plan. After the layoffs, the company still has more than 2,000 employees worldwide. Argo AI, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, was developing the technology behind driverless cars when the company started. By then the company had received at least $3.6 billion in investment, mostly from Ford and Volkswagen.