This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG .

There aren't many companies that insist staff start work every day at such an oddly specific time as Pivotal Software. Employees at the US firm's 20 global offices all have to be at work and ready to go at exactly 9.06am. At that precise time a cowbell is rung, or a gong is hit, and all workers gather for a brief stand-up meeting that lasts for between five and 10 minutes. Then the firm's programmers hit their computers, with no other meetings or distractions for the rest of the day. Pivotal's founder and chief executive Rob Mee says it is all about making the working day as efficient as possible.

Detroit automakers that viewed Silicon Valley as a "serious threat" just a few years ago are now jumping into deals, acquisitions and investments with West Coast tech companies, describing some of the partnerships as "getting married." The new relationships promise to bring the tech and automotive industries closer as they rush to develop self-driving cars, ride-sharing partnerships and to take advantage of other cutting-edge technology. The change from potential adversaries to partnerships illustrates a growing awareness that neither industry is likely to conquer the other anytime soon and that they need each other to evolve at the speed necessary to remain competitive. But like any successful marriage, the two parties must recognize their differences and figure out how to work more closely together, said Xavier Mosquet, a Detroit-based senior partner in the automotive practice of the Boston Consulting Group. These are industries that move at vastly different paces, operate in entirely different regulatory environments and come from different corporate cultures, he pointed out.

FordPass, a set of mobility services, was developed by Ford in conjunction with Pivotal, a Silicon Valley software developer. DETROIT -- Ford said Thursday it is investing 182 million in Pivotal, a Silicon Valley-based software development company, to gain access to cutting-edge software-development expertise that the automaker admits it would struggle to develop on its own. Ford's investment is part of a 253 million financing package for Pivotal that also includes funding from Microsoft, GE, EMC and VMware. The Dearborn, Mich., automaker's investment in the Silicon Valley developer is the latest in a string of partnerships and acquisitions announced recently between Detroit automakers and Silicon Valley Technology companies, including a deal between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Google that emerged earlier this week. The growing number of tie-ups between the automakers and the tech companies underscores a rapid pace of collaboration as the two industries jointly develop autonomous vehicles, more advanced in-car entertainment and mobility services.