Dearborn, Michigan – Ford is investing $182.2 million in Pivotal, a cloud-based software platform company headquartered in San Francisco, California, to enhance its software development capabilities.
The investment aims to help drive Ford’s transition to an auto and a mobility company. Ford is continuing to focus on and invest in its core business – designing, manufacturing, marketing, financing, and servicing vehicles. At the same time, the company is aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities through Ford Smart Mobility – its plan to be a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics.
“Expanding our business to be both an auto and mobility company requires leading-edge software expertise to deliver outstanding customer experiences,” says Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO. “Our investment in Pivotal will help strengthen our ability to deliver these customer experiences at the speed of Silicon Valley, including continually expanding FordPass – our digital, physical and personal mobility experience platform.”
Ford recently teamed up with Pivotal to deliver FordPass, a platform to offer new customer services, like remote access to vehicles through a smartphone app, and mobility solutions, such as parking and car sharing.
Ford plans to accelerate the incorporation of Pivotal’s advanced software development methodologies and technology across the IT, product development, and research and advanced engineering teams. Ford will put Pivotal’s next-generation cloud platform and analytics capabilities to use on the company’s new mobility projects – such as its on-demand Dynamic Shuttle pilot program.
Rob Mee, Pivotal CEO, says, “We are collaborating with iconic companies like Ford to help transform their businesses with our unique software development methodology and modern cloud platform and analytics tools.”
Ford and Pivotal plan to open new software labs in strategic locations in both the United States and Europe. The labs will be staffed with software architects, engineers, and user experience experts – all using Pivotal’s software development methodology. Ford’s investment in Pivotal is subject to customary regulatory approval.
Source: Ford Motor Co.