Self-Driving Startup Argo Closes $2.6 Billion Tie-Up With VW

Argo AI, the self-driving startup tightly aligned with Ford Motor Co., completed an expected tie-up with Volkswagen AG involving a $2.6 billion investment from the German automaker.

VW’s investment includes a $1 billion cash infusion and folding its $1.6 billion Autonomous Intelligent Driving unit into Argo. It’s part of a broader alliance between VW and Ford to jointly develop autonomous and electric vehicles, a partnership first announced last July. The deal vaults the world’s first and sixth largest automakers into the top ranks of a race to deploy fully self-driving cars, along with Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo and General Motors Co.’s Cruise.