Self-driving vehicles are once again bringing Detroit and Silicon Valley together.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said it has entered into a partnership with self-driving systems provider Aurora Innovation. The two companies will work together to develop and deploy autonomous technology on commercial vehicles.
Through the partnership, FCA officials say, they'll explore the possibilities of installing Aurora's system on the Ram and Fiat Professional brand vehicle lines, with Ram the initial focus.
Test vehicles could reach the road in the next three to five years.
"Aurora brings a unique skill set combined with advanced and purposeful technology that complements and enhances our approach to self driving," FCA CEO Mike Manley said in a statement.
For FCA, the partnership is the first to directly aim to bring autonomous technology into its product lines. Currently, the company sells Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans for use in Waymo's self-driving vehicle operations.
Aurora is a 2-year-old startup based in Palo Alto, California, founded by Chris Urmson, Sterling Anderson and Drew Bagnell, who played significant roles in the development of autonomous technology at Google, Tesla and Uber, respectively.
Their self-driving system, which is called the Aurora Driver, consists of hardware, software and data services that collectively enable Level 4 automation, which means vehicles are capable of navigating themselves without human intervention or oversight.
The partnership is the latest in a steady stream for Aurora, which already has deals in place with Volkswagen, Hyundai and Byton.
The company closed a $530 million funding round in February that included investment from Amazon.
