Ford Motor Company today announced a $182.2 million investment in San Francisco-based software company Pivotal, which helped the automaker to deliver the FordPass mobility app last month.
The news comes several months after Ford announced a three-year collaboration with the software company, with the intent of speeding up its own application-development time frame. Other services offered by Pivotal include a cloud platform which other businesses may use to implement cloud-based functionality in their own software. Ford will utilized the platform in its own Dynamic Shuttle pilot program.
“Expanding our business to be both an auto and mobility company requires leading-edge software expertise to deliver outstanding customer experiences,” says Ford CEO Mark Fields. “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.”
Along with the investment, Ford also announced that the automaker’s Chief Information Officer, Marcy Klevorn, will join the Pivotal Board of Directors. Beyond aiding Ford with the connectivity, data-collection, and analytics demanded by FordPass and the many services it will come to offer, Pivotal’s software expertise might also help with SYNC Connect – a software service which allows Ford owners to remotely access basic functions and information on their vehicles with a mobile device.
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