Argo AI is considering going public through either a traditional IPO or a transaction with a SPAC.
What Happened: Argo AI, an autonomous vehicle startup backed by Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Volkswagen (OTC: VWAGY), is reportedly considering going public as soon as this year, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the startup’s plans.
On April 1, Argo’s co-founder Bryan Salesky told employees that the company is set to commercialize its self-driving technology and is looking to boost funding.
Argo AI is still working out whether to go for a traditional IPO or do a transaction with a SPAC.
Why It Matters: Other startups in this space also could be planning to go public. This includes Alphabet Inc‘s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) Waymo, General Motors Company‘s (NYSE: GM) Cruise and Aurora Innovation Inc., which is backed by Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Bloomberg reports.
Argo was valued at $7.5 billion when Volkswagen Group finalized its $2.6 billion investment in July 2020.
Ford has invested $1 billion in Argo AI, which is led by former Alphabet and Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER) staff.
Argo, founded in 2016 by Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, is jointly controlled by Volkswagen and Ford.
Photo by Yanshu Lee on Unsplash.
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