Apple has decided to halt its long-standing Apple Car project, redirecting its focus towards the burgeoning field of generative AI.
After a rollercoaster decade of will-they-won’t-they stories, it seems Apple has finally given up on its ambitions to enter the automotive market. Although we wrote the same thing in 2019 after another round of layoffs, so don’t bet against Apple returning to the project again in the future.
Up to 2,000 employees will be affected by the switch-up this time around, reports Bloomberg, with many of the Apple Car team moving to work on AI instead. The tech giant is clearly changing priorities in the face of a quickly-evolving landscape, for fear of being left behind when it comes to artificial intelligence.
Other companies are throwing everything they’ve got at generative AI, and although we don’t think it would necessarily be smart for Apple to do the same, investors are starting to pressure the company not to fall behind.
Project Titan, as Apple Car was known internally, has been a wild ride. We’ve seen leadership shuffles, strategy shifts, and Apple’s failed attempts to keep the whole thing a secret. But despite all the talent poached from Tesla and the insane amount of money sunk into the project, it seems like this ambitious road has come to an end.
Goodbye, Apple Car (again).
Thanks to CarWow for the hypothetical Apple Car design featured at the top of the page.