Ford partners with Google to reinvent connected vehicle experience and in-car connectivity using Google’s AI and cloud

Today, Ford Motor Co. and Google sign a six-year multi-million dollar strategic partnership to accelerate Ford’s transformation and reinvent the connected vehicle experience. The deal will make Google responsible for much of the automaker’s growing in-vehicle connectivity, artificial intelligence, as well as cloud computing, and other technology services.

The partnership will enable Ford to tap into software, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing offered by Alphabet Inc’s Google to develop new consumer services and modernize internal operations, the companies said on Monday.

As its preferred cloud provider and starting later this year, Google will help Ford leverage Google Cloud’s AI, ML and data analytics technologies to accelerate the automaker’s digital transformation, modernize operations, and power connected vehicle technologies with Google’s trusted, secure, and reliable cloud.

As part of the six-year partnership, which begins in 2023, millions of future Ford and Lincoln vehicles at all price points will be powered by Android, with Google apps and services built-in.

“We’re proud to partner to apply the best of Google’s AI, data analytics, compute and cloud platforms to help transform Ford’s business and build automotive technologies that keep people safe and connected on the road.” Sundar Pichai, CEO Google.

To drive ongoing innovation, Ford and Google are also establishing a new collaborative group, Team Upshift. Leveraging the talent and assets of both companies, Team Upshift will push the boundaries of Ford’s transformation, unlock personalized consumer experiences, and drive disruptive, data-driven opportunities. This may include projects ranging from developing new retail experiences when buying a vehicle, creating new ownership offers based on data and more.

“As Ford continues the most profound transformation in our history with electrification, connectivity and self-driving, Google and Ford coming together establishes an innovation powerhouse truly able to deliver a superior experience for our customers and modernize our business,” said Jim Farley, President and CEO of Ford.

“From the first moving assembly line to the latest driver-assist technology, Ford has set the pace of innovation for the automotive industry for nearly 120 years,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “We’re proud to partner to apply the best of Google’s AI, data analytics, compute and cloud platforms to help transform Ford’s business and build automotive technologies that keep people safe and connected on the road.”