Ford Motor bet a billion dollars on a startup called Argo AI to catch up to flashy tech companies like Google , Uber and Tesla .
Volkswagen , the second-largest automaker in the world, signed on as a backer in 2019, investing $2.6 billion Argo AI at a valuation of more than $7 billion.
By 2021, Argo AI was valued at $12.4 billion and counted 2,000 employees, with offices on two continents and self-driving tests underway in seven cities.
There were plans to bring a self-driving taxi service to market by 2021, rivaling those by Waymo and Ford's larger Detroit rival, General Motors .
But in October 2022, Argo AI shut down.