(c) Reuters. FILE PHOTO – SoftBank Corp.’s logo at a Tokyo, Japan news conference, February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
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(Reuters) – Founders behind defunct self-driving startup backed by Ford (NYSE:) and Volkswagen (ETR:) launched a new autonomous trucking firm, Stack AV, on Thursday with investment from Japan’s SoftBank (TYO:) Group.
SoftBank declined to disclose its investment, but a Bloomberg News report said it will provide more than $1 billion, citing an economic development official in Pittsburgh where the startup will be based.
The city was also home to defunct Argo AI, which was founded in 2016 by Bryan Salesky, Peter Rander and Brett Browning. The company was shut down last year because Ford executives were concerned that fully autonomous, profitable vehicles would be years away. Stack AV CEO, Salesky, said: “With our proprietary technology and expertise, as well as the commitment from our long-term partner in SoftBank, we are confident that we will revolutionize the trucking and freight industries.”
“With our proprietary technology and expertise as well as the commitment from our long-term partner in SoftBank, we are confident we will revolutionize the trucking and freight industries,” said Salesky, CEO of Stack AV.
Salesky got his start developing automated vehicles for a Defense Department sponsored competition 16 years ago and has served as director of self-driving cars development at Google (NASDAQ:).
Rander, who has led teams that worked on Uber (NYSE:)’s self-driving prototypes, will be the president of the startup, while Browning will be the chief technology officer.