Adding to the ever-growing web of self-driving vehicle partnerships, Aurora Innovation announced Monday morning that it would partner with Fiat Chrysler, a U.K.-based automaker, to deploy its vehicles with autonomous capabilities.
The announcement comes on the heels of failed merger talks between Fiat Chrysler and French automaker Renault, which would have made the joint firm the third largest car manufacturer in the world.
One benefit of the proposed Renault/Fiat Chrysler partnership, the thought went, was to bring down the cost of developing electric and autonomous vehicles. Fiat Chrysler will have to do that on its own now, with the help of Aurora.
Financials of the deal were not disclosed.
“Aurora brings a unique skillset combined with advanced and purposeful technology that complements and enhances our philosophy on self-driving,” Mike Manley, CEO of Fiat Chrysler, said in a prepared statement.
Aurora, which is headquartered in Pittsburgh but also has offices in Palo Alto, Calif., and San Francisco, employs 327 people, according to data from LinkedIn. It’s just one of four companies building and testing autonomous vehicles on Pittsburgh streets, including rivals Argo AI, Aptiv and Uber.
The deal will allow Fiat Chrysler to build out self-driving cars in logistics and transit applications, among others.
Working with Aurora will also allow the European automaker to compete with other manufacturers intent on pushing out autonomous vehicles.
In 2017, Ford invested $1 billion into Strip District-based Argo AI.
Aurora’s self-driving platform — which includes the necessary hardware and software to integrate with a company’s existing car architectures — was designed with multiple manufacturers in mind.
Hyundai, Volkswagen and China’s Byton all have partnered with Aurora.
Fiat Chrysler will manufacture the autonomous-enabled cars, with Aurora building out the brains of the operation. Neither released a timeline for the cars’ release.
“We are thrilled to forge a partnership with [Fiat Chrysler] to develop a meaningful business model for delivering the benefits of self-driving commercial vehicles,” Sterling Anderson, Aurora co-founder and chief product officer, said in a prepared statement.
Courtney Linder: clinder@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1707. Twitter: @LinderPG.
First Published: June 10, 2019, 3:02 p.m.