Coopetition is Silicon Valley lingo for the balance achieved by competing companies who cooperate to help one another innovate, perform and sell more.

This break from the old “don’t ask, don’t tell” model to a more open and communicative relationship between competitors is working quite nicely for Ford Motor Co., according to the company’s VP of Research and Advanced Engineering Dr. Ken Washington.

“Here we have to learn how to leverage others. We have to learn how to smartly partner. We have to learn how to ride the technology wave,” Washington told Jeff Frick, cohost of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team.

The future of connectivity

Ford is focusing heavily on Internet connectivity in its vehicles, said Washington. The company’s SYNC Connect offering allows users to remote control many of their car’s functions through their smartphones. “You can interact with your car, because it’s a secure device on the Internet,” he explained.

Automation is also a huge area of research and development for Ford, according to Washington. Ford is exploring different stages of automation with varying user input up to level four, which takes the driver entirely out of the loop. Washington acknowledged the safety concerns some have about full automation and said that Ford would put safety first, which is why these developments may take longer to hit the market.

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of Ford Innovation Day 2016.

Photo by SiliconANGLE