The disclosure was made internally by the American technology company, shocking approximately 2,000 employees working on the project, reported Bloomberg News, citing undisclosed sources with knowledge of the matter
Apple reportedly cancels its ambitious initiative to develop an autonomous electric car after a decade of work. (Credit: Cryptic C62/Wikimedia Commons)
American technology company Apple has reportedly cancelled its ambitious initiative to develop an autonomous electric car after a decade of work.
The disclosure was made internally by the technology company, shocking approximately 2,000 employees working on the project, reported Bloomberg News, citing undisclosed sources with knowledge of the matter.
According to the sources, the cancellation of the electric car project was revealed by Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams and Apple vice president in charge Kevin Lynch.
Bloomberg News reported that many employees on the car team, which is known as the Special Projects Group (SPG), will be transferred to the artificial intelligence (AI) division under Apple executive team member John Giannandrea.
The shifted personnel are expected to focus on generative AI projects, which are increasingly the key priorities for the company.
Apple’s electric car team also has several hundred hardware engineers and vehicle designers. They are expected to be given 90 days to apply and find jobs on other Apple teams.
In addition, Bloomberg News reported that there will be layoffs in the technology company.
Internally dubbed Project Titan, the autonomous electric car project was initially reported to have started in 2014. In 2020, Reuters reported that Apple was planning to release a vehicle as soon as in 2024 or 2025.
In September last year, the tech firm signed a long-term agreement with UK-based semiconductor and software design company Arm for chip technology.
The deal, which extends beyond 2024, will enable the British semiconductor firm to continue its longstanding relationship of collaboration with Apple and the latter’s access to the Arm architecture.