A highway-speed test track facility announced last year by now-defunct Argo AI and slated for the S.C. Technology and Aviation Center in Greenville County will be folded into Latitude AI, an automated driving company created by Ford Motor Company.
Ford announced the creation of the wholly owned subsidiary March 2 and said the new division will be focused on developing a “hands-free, eyes-off-the-road” automated driving system for the next generation of Ford vehicles.
The move follows months after Ford announced it would no longer invest in Argo AI, which had been pursuing automated driving technology for Ford, VW and others. Argo’s board announced the company would cease operations late last year and added many of its employees would be offered positions within Ford.
Ford’s announcement says Latitude AI includes about 550 former Argo experts in machine learning and robotics, cloud platforms, sensors and computing systems, mapping, test operations, system and safety engineering.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh with engineering hubs in Palo Alto, Calif., and Dearborn, Mich., Latitude AI will also operate the test track facility at SCTAC’s International Transportation Innovation Center in southern Greenville County.
