Girsky stepped down from GM's board in June after holding several posts at the automaker, including vice chairman of GM and chairman of its Adam Opel subsidiary.

"We all know that the automotive industry is in the midst of a foundational shift," Girsky said in a statement. "The emergence of self-driving technology, and deep learning in particular, brings an incredible opportunity to save countless lives, transform the transportation landscape, and shift the way we think about cars and technology. The team at Drive.ai has the vision and expertise to lead this new era."

The privately held company said in a statement that Girsky brings "deep expertise within corporate management and the automobile industry."

Carol Reiley, co-founder and president of Drive.ai, said the company was founded in April 2015 by a team of artificial intelligence experts dedicated to taking autonomous vehicles to the next level. Numerous doctoral candidates, including Reiley herself, have suspended their academic work to take part in the project, she said in an interview.

Deep learning is a branch of computer science in which algorithms try to replicate the learning and thinking functions of neurons in the human brain.

"We're pushing deep learning more end-to-end than it's been done before," said Reiley, 34. "We use it for perception all the way through to decision-making -- how a car should maneuver and drive" and also employ "artificial intelligence inside and outside the car."

In traffic situations, there's often an unwritten code between drivers and pedestrians.

"As a pedestrian is crossing, there's this nonverbal communication that takes place. When you remove the driver, how do you understand what the [vehicle's] intention is? We want to communicate intent through several different indications: lights, emojis, sound. ... The example of the worst-designed feature of the car is the horn. It's a monotone."

Drive.ai will "build retrofitted kits for business fleets" that may deliver either people or cargo, she said in the interview.