Argo AI Mulling SPAC Or IPO Deal This Year

Argo AI may be considering going public through either a traditional IPO or a transaction with a SPAC.

What Happened: Argo AI, an autonomous vehicle startup backed by Ford Motor Co. F and Volkswagen VWAGY, is reportedly considering going public as soon as this year, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the startup's plans.

On April 1, Argo’s co-founder Bryan Salesky told employees that the company is set to commercialize its self-driving technology and is looking to boost funding. 

Argo AI is still working out whether to go for a traditional IPO or do a transaction with a SPAC. 

Related content: Benzinga's Full SPAC Calendar

Why It Matters: Other startups in this space also could be planning to go public. This includes Alphabet Inc's GOOGL GOOG Waymo, General Motors Company's GM Cruise and Aurora Innovation Inc., which is backed by Amazon.com, Inc AMZN, Bloomberg reports. 

Argo was valued at $7.5 billion when Volkswagen Group finalized its $2.6 billion investment in July 2020.

Ford has invested $1 billion in Argo AI, which is led by former Alphabet and Uber Technologies Inc UBER staff.

Argo, founded in 2016 by Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, is jointly controlled by Volkswagen and Ford.

Photo by Yanshu Lee on Unsplash.