Argo, an artificial intelligence firm founded late last year by engineers formerly of Uber, Google and Carnegie Mellon, is helping Ford Motor Co. develop a virtual driver system for a self-driving vehicle the automaker hopes to launch in 2021.

Since Ford announced a commitment of $1 billion in funding to Argo AI in February, Argo has started hiring. It hopes to hire 200 people by the end of this year.

While Mr. Rander said he wanted to hire only local Pittsburghers, he and chief executive Bryan Salesky agreed that was “a little unrealistic.” In addition to its Pittsburgh headquarters in the Strip District, Argo’s employees will be spread among hubs in Detroit and San Francisco.