Meet the self-driving brains working with Ford and Volkswagen

Today I'm talking to Bryan Salesky, the cofounder and CEO of Argo AI, a startup that's trying to build the tech stack for self-driving cars. Argo just launched a small fleet of robotaxis in Miami and Austin in partnership with Lyft. I wanted to talk to Bryan about his partnership with Lyft, but I also wanted to know if the pandemic accelerated any of his investment or development the way we have seen in other industries. After all, the proposition of having a taxi all to yourself is pretty enticing in the COVID era, and lots of people moving away from offices to work from home might love having a car that gets them to and from a central office a couple days a week.

Of course, I also had to ask about 5G. Is 5G enabling any of Argo's current self-driving technology? Does he see 5G as a benefit in the future? His answer might surprise you… unless you're a regular listener of this show. Then it won't surprise you one bit.

Read the transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/22391888

Decoder is produced by Creighton DeSimone, Alexander Charles Adams and Andrew Marino. And we are edited by Callie Wright. Our music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. 

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