- Robotaxis from Argo AI and Ford are coming to Miami this year and Austin in 2022.
- Lyft’s customer base and data made it an attractive partner, Argo CEO Bryan Salesky said.
- He’s looking forward to getting feedback from riders outside the company.
Five years after its founding, Argo AI had an automated-driving system that had navigated big cities like Pittsburgh and Washington, DC, and two partners ready to build robotaxis and delivery vehicles around it. But the startup had a third critical task to complete before it could begin making money: figuring out how to attract customers.
Argo found an answer in a newly announced partnership with Lyft, which will integrate self-driving Ford vehicles powered by Argo’s technology (with backup drivers behind the wheel) into its ride-hailing networks in Miami later this year and Austin in 2022. As part of the deal, Lyft will receive a 2.5% stake in Argo. “This really completes the picture for how we get to market,” Argo CEO Bryan Salesky told Insider.
Argo and Ford may one day develop their own ride-hailing service, Salesky said. But for now, Lyft (which includes self-driving vehicles from Motional in its Las Vegas network) offers a customer base and data that Argo can use to better understand how its vehicles are performing, and which cities it should tackle next. Ford and Argo will also use partners for a delivery service they plan to debut by the end of 2022.
Austin and Miami were appealing launch cities because they’re located in states that are “very open” to self-driving tech and have transportation challenges that AVs can help address, Salesky said. He’s looking forward to receiving feedback on Argo’s tech from riders outside the company.
“We now get real customers in the car,” Salesky said.
Argo and Lyft have yet to determine whether the self-driving vehicles will immediately cover the entirety of each city or begin in a smaller service area, but Salesky said Argo’s test vehicles can drive through all of Miami and Austin.
Autonomous-vehicle experts consider Argo to be one of the industry’s leaders. The startup has raised $2.6 billion so far, mostly through investments from Ford and Volkswagen, and is reportedly considering a public offering later this year. Argo and Volkswagen plan to begin offering autonomous rides and deliveries in Europe in 2025.
Sam Abuelsamid, a research analyst at Guidehouse Insights who speaks with Argo regularly, told Insider earlier this year that he was impressed with the progress the startup has made. In April, Guidehouse ranked Argo third in a list of 15 companies developing automated-driving systems. Salesky said in June that Argo’s tech has “approached” the overall skill level of a typical human driver and “regularly” produces lower collision rates in some areas.
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