Ford invests in Autonomic to make open-source mobility service platform

Ford has taken a stake in Silicon Valley’s Autonomic to be the basis for the automaker’s

future mobility efforts. In its investors report last week, Ford said it had made an investment in Palo Alto-based Autonomic Inc. to build a basis for future iterations of mobility services that will use Ford vehicles, such as its Chariot service that employs Transit vans, as part of the company’s plan to move people through cities in every way, according to CEO Jim Hackett. “The platform would allow us to build services, as well as others, because the platform would be open to cities and other services,” Ford Smart Mobility communications manager Alan Hall told The Verge. “The layer that Autonomic provides is non-differentiated services.” In addition to Chariot, Ford has partnered recently with Dominos and Lyft, as well as a non-emergency medical service in Michigan to assist patients who do not drive. While none of these services use an Autonomic platform now, Hall said it’s possible future iterations will — especially new services Ford expands across the country.                                                                       https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/11/16449264/ford-invests-in-autonomic-to-make-open-source-mobility-service-platform