Its action ignited speculations that the company decided to discontinue the project. However, a spokesperson for the company clarified at the time that they “Continue to believe there is a huge opportunity with autonomous systems,” which is their “most ambitious machine learning project ever.”
Some Drive.a1 engineers are already working on special projects at Apple
Apple already hired hardware and software engineers from Drive.ai based on the LinkedIn profiles of those who left the self-driving start-up. Some of them stated in their profiles that they are involved in the tech giant’s “special projects.”
Doug Field returned to Apple from Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) where he supervised its engineering and vehicle production.
Currently, the tech giant is testing Lexus SUVs with autonomous systems on California roads. A safety driver is inside the car during the road tests.
Drive.ai was offering on-demand ride-hailing service in Frisco and Arlington, Texas before selling itself to Apple.
