Argo AI is expanding its global headquarters in the Strip District, further cementing its presence in the Steel City.
The self-driving car startup has taken over nearly all of the space in the five-story Riverfront West building in the 3 Crossings development.
Argo moved its headquarters into the building in 2018. It has been growing steadily there since then.
The latest expansion involves taking over the entire second floor of the 130,500-square-foot building and parts of the first and third floors.
Before the latest moves, Argo occupied the fourth and fifth floors and parts of the first and third.
"Argo AI was founded in Pittsburgh and the city will always be home to our global headquarters,” spokesman Alan Hall said in a statement. “We're proud to continue expanding at 3 Crossings with renovations to add three additional floors of space for our employees. With plans to soon exceed 700 employees based in the area, and more than 1,800 in total globally, Pittsburgh plays a pivotal role in our future."
The expansion exemplifies the rapid growth of the autonomous vehicle firm, which was founded in 2016 by Bryan Salesky and Pete Rander.
As part of its Riverfront West building additions, Argo also will be taking over the lobby. The only space it will not occupy are two small suites for existing tenants, including one on the third floor.
In addition to the 3 Crossings expansion, Argo also has solidified its holdings in the Strip by recently spending $4.5 million to buy a building on Penn Avenue for use as a vehicle depot. It had previously been leasing the space.
Argo made big news in 2017 when it announced it was moving to 3 Crossings from the Strip’s Crane Building, where it had been operating out of one floor.
At 3 Crossings, Argo, which is aligned with the Ford Motor Co., is neighbors with Apple, the Burns White law firm, and Rycon Construction.
Beyond Pittsburgh, Argo announced in February that it was opening an engineering and development office in Los Angeles.
Argo also has offices in Detroit; Palo Alto, Calif,; Cranbury, N.J.; Miami, Fla.; Washington D.C.; Austin, Texas; Hamburg, Germany; and a European headquarters in Munich, Germany.
Even during the pandemic, the company has had reason to expand.
In 2020, it closed on a deal with Volkswagen on a $2.6 billion investment. As part of that, it absorbed Volkswagen’s autonomous intelligent driving team, giving the firm an engineering center in Munich.
Ford has been involved with Argo since 2017, when the automaker pledged to invest $1 billion in the venture over five years.
Last year, Argo announced a collaboration with Lyft and Ford to offer Ford self-driving cars to passengers requesting a ride on the Lyft network. It also is working with Ford and Walmart on a plan to deliver customer orders using autonomous vehicles.
Argo’s latest expansion further establishes the corridor running from the Strip to Lawrenceville as a robotics row filled with companies like it — Apple, Facebook, Aurora Innovation and other high-tech ventures.
Aurora, another autonomous vehicle company, recently moved from Lawrenceville to new offices at 1600 Smallman St., a former Strip warehouse redeveloped by Chicago-based McCaffery Interests.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First Published: April 26, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: April 26, 2022, 2:47 p.m.
