Ford is creating a new division to lead its partial autonomy and hands-free driving tech

Ford announced the creation of a new wholly owned subsidiary called Latitude AI to lead its efforts to develop a hands-free, eye-off, unsupervised driving system. The company has rehired about 550 employees from Argo AI, the autonomous vehicle operator that shut down last year after Ford pulled its funding. Latitude AI will be based in Pittsburgh, which is where Argo AI was previously headquartered and has emerged in recent years as a hub of AV research and startups. When Argo AI shut down, Ford said it would shift its spending from Level 4 driverless technology to Level 2 and Level 3 driver-assist products. To be sure, Level 4 autonomous vehicles are enormously expensive to develop and maintain.