Ford President and CEO Jim Hackett, Argo AI co-founder Bryan Salesky and VW CEO Dr. Herbert Diess

Volkswagen has closed a $2.6 billion investment in Pittsburgh-based self-driving startup Argo AI. As part of the agreement, it will transfer its autonomous driving unit to Argo.

Founded in 2016, Argo is now jointly controlled by Volkswagen and Ford. The latter made an initial investment in Argo shortly after it was founded.

Volkswagen’s agreement includes the transfer to Argo of the German carmaker’s Munich-based Autonomous Intelligent Driving unit.  The transfer boosts Argo’s employment to more than 1,000, according to Argo chief executive Bryan Salesky.

The supervisory board of Volkswagen has also now approved several projects in a multibillion-dollar alliance with Ford that were announced last July.

Ford created Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC in 2018, investing $4 billion until 2023. The company has sought other investors to share the cost of developing autonomous vehicles.