Ford is investing $1B into a self-driving car startup argo.ai

Probably the team? Tech leads:

BRYAN SALESKY, CEO - ex. Director, Hardware Development, Self-Driving Cars at Google (http://google.academia.edu/BryanSalesky)

DR. PETER RANDER, COO - ex. Engineering Lead at Uber (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brett_Browning/publicat...)

DR. BRETT BROWNING, VP ROBOTICS – Engineering Lead at Uber (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UKUngBoAAAAJ)

"$1 billion over a five year schedule" seems to be a safe bet for Ford to secure themselves from missing the SDC future.

There's nothing particularly unique about them. There are still shoppers out there looking for a strong team of AI/robotics pioneers who can build a self driving car. There's something in the neighbourhood of a billion bucks in it for any team who can convince the increasingly desperate carmakers out there with empty dance cards that they can carry the company to autonomous greatness.

Chris Urmson and Sterling Anderson's startup, Aurora, has been in talks with Toyota, VW, Hyundai, and Ford.

I think the automakers realize they need self-driving technology and are willing to pay a premium for the right team to jumpstart the program.