Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) announced a partnership with a Silicon Valley company to advance its driverless capabilities.
Autonomic Inc and the automotive company have teamed up in order to launch a number of self-driving services that will allow a number of passengers to access driverless services moving forward. The two are developing a software that will aid their cause.
Ford’s initiative includes a “microtransit” service called Non-Emergency Medical Transport that was rolled out this summer by the automotive company and Michigan-based Beaumont Hospital. Patients will be able to schedule pickups and appointments from a mobile app built using the Autonomic software platform, according to Autonomic CEO and co-founder Sundeep Madra.
Ford CEO Jim Hackett unveiled the partnership with Autonomic during a presentation to investors last week. Autonomic has only been around for 15 months, and plans on developing “an open platform for transportation” that will allow Ford to build a number of new in-vehicle and mobility-related capabilities with a number of partners, according to Hackett.
Thanks to the Autonomic software platform combined with data from Ford’s vehicles, the company and its partners could offer a number of new services and products for consumers, according to Marcy Klevorn, Ford president of mobility.
The move is part of a broader effort by Ford to figure out more revenue streams moving forward.
F stock surged 0.2% Monday.
