SoftBank backs autonomous trucking firm started by ex-Ford execs

The founders of the former self-driving unit of Ford and Volkswagen are launching a new autonomous trucking startup with backing said to be more than $1 billion from SoftBank Group.

The new firm, named Stack AV, is led by Bryan Salesky, Pete Rander and Brett Browning, who previously ran Argo AI, the self-driving operation that Ford and VW shut down last year. Based in Pittsburgh, which was also home to Argo, Stack AV has hired 150 people and already has a test fleet of trucks on the road, Salesky said in an interview.

While Salesky and SoftBank declined to detail the investment in Stack, Matt Smith, an economic development official in Pittsburgh, said he expects the commitment to be “north of $1 billion,” adding to a growing tech corridor in the city known as Robotics Row.