Nvidia has made some early entries into the self-driving car and artificial intelligence market, but now, the hardware company has joined up with a notable partner: Baidu. Chinese search giant Baidu announced Wednesday it will work with Nvidia on initiatives focused on artificial intelligence. While both companies have worked together on smaller initiatives in the past, Wednesday's agreement marks a formal partnership between Baidu and Nvidia. In a statement, Ian Buck, vice president of accelerated computing at Nvidia, said the companies are a strong match for further development in AI. "NVIDIA and Baidu have pioneered significant advances in deep learning and AI," Buck said. "We believe AI is the most powerful technology force of our time, with the potential to revolutionize every industry. Our collaboration aligns our exceptional technical resources to create AI computing platforms for all developers -- from academic research, startups creating breakthrough AI applications, and autonomous vehicles."

TORONTO – Ford Motor Co. will hire approximately 400 employees from embattled communications company BlackBerry Ltd. as part of sizable new investments in Canada that include a connected-vehicle research center in Ottawa, the smartphone maker said Thursday. Ford said the Ottawa research center is part of a 500 million Canadian dollar ($376 million) investment. The company also plans to increase sustainability and fuel economy research at its Windsor and Oakville operations. The company said it will hire approximately 300 engineers in Canada and 100 additional hardware and software engineers in the U.S. to support the work of the Canadian team. The new Ottawa Research and Engineering Centre in Canada will focus on research and development across infotainment, in-vehicle modems, gateway modules, driver-assist features and autonomous vehicles, said Ford.