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Aurora’s premier product, the Aurora Driver, can be utilized to autonomously function passenger automobiles, mild business automobiles and heavy-duty vans. | Source: Aurora
Ford and VW introduced this week that the businesses could be ending their funding in Argo AI, a self-driving firm with partnerships with Lyft and Walmart, and that the corporate could be shutting its doorways.
Some of Argo AI’s round 2,000 staff would both be receiving affords from Ford, whose president and CEO mentioned the corporate anticipated to make a number of hundred affords, or VW. The relaxation could be let go and obtain severance packages that embrace insurance coverage and two separate bonuses.
Chris Urmson, the co-founder and CEO of Aurora, a self-driving firm that has partnerships with Toyota and Uber, shared a word to Aurora’s e-newsletter in regards to the current information.
Urmson’s complete word may be learn beneath.
Sorry to interrupt your repeatedly scheduled programming, however main information was introduced within the self-driving business yesterday and I needed to share my perspective.
Argo is shutting down.
First, my ideas are with Bryan Salesky and your complete Argo crew—this business is small, everyone knows one another properly, and many people right here at Aurora have labored with the Argo crew, watched them develop, and seen the impression they’ve made. It is disappointing, and it’s unlucky, and their absence will likely be felt in Pittsburgh and within the bigger AV business.
But I additionally need to be clear that this isn’t a sign {that a} future with self-driving expertise isn’t actual or imminent. In truth, it’s fairly the other. Waymo not too long ago introduced the growth of their robotaxi fleet to LA. Cruise is charging for his or her driverless robotaxi rides in San Francisco.
And as for us? We’ve lengthy believed that long-haul trucking is the easiest way to enter the market, and that it is going to be the primary vertical throughout the autonomous car business to generate important income, in order that has been our focus.
We’re making autonomous freight deliveries every single day for pilot clients like FedEx, Werner, Schneider, and Uber Freight. In truth, for those who obtained a FedEx parcel that obtained shipped from Houston, there’s an opportunity that it sat in one among our vans on the way in which to you.
We have shut, collaborative partnerships with PACCAR and Volvo Trucks (which collectively produce virtually 50% of all Class 8 vans within the United States) and with main transportation leaders like Toyota and Uber. These corporations see the long-term worth of autonomous automobiles, and our independence provides them the flexibility to put money into it with out shouldering the price of creating this expertise alone.
Finally, we’ve a transparent path, plan, and timeline to market.
I’ve been on this business for almost twenty years, and on this second, proper now, I consider we’ve by no means been nearer to delivering self-driving automobiles to the world. More importantly, this expertise has by no means been wanted extra. Over 40,000 folks died in automotive crashes final 12 months, up 10% from the earlier 12 months. Trucking is an over $700B enterprise, shifting over 72% of the nation’s freight by weight, however we simply don’t have sufficient drivers to maneuver all of it. It’s additionally harmful – there are virtually half one million accidents involving vans a 12 months. Self-driving expertise shouldn’t be a science mission. It is without doubt one of the subsequent main technological improvements that may remodel our society—for the higher—and we’re making constant, regular, and thrilling progress in direction of getting there.
So, with that, I flip you again to The Dashboard and to some significant updates from the final month—together with extra element about how our autonomous trucking service Aurora Horizon will work for patrons after we launch and the way we prepare the Aurora Driver to securely reply to pedestrians.
Oh, and yet one more factor. We’re hiring! We have over 160 positions out there throughout the nation, and we’d like a crew with the experience, dedication, and fervour for taking up this once-in-a-generation alternative head-on. If that sounds such as you and also you need to be on the crew that will get this expertise on our roads and transforms transportation, please come be a part of us.
—Chris Urmson, CEO, Aurora