Apple reportedly hiring engineers from self-driving car startup Drive.ai [update]

Drive.ai is dorsum inwards the Apple word cycle, amongst a novel study suggesting that Apple is hiring upwards at to the lowest degree a handful of engineers from the startup.

Update: Apple confirmed the purchase of Drive.ai to Axios.

According to a study from the San Francisco Chronicle, Apple has hired v software engineers from the smaller startup, Drive.ai. Going further, this study suggests that Drive.ai is genuinely expected to unopen its doors for the finally fourth dimension afterwards this week. That may or may non draw upwards amongst an earlier report from before inwards June that said Apple was planning on acquiring Drive.ai.

Indeed, this latest study lift drops Apple again, proverb that the companionship was exploring a purchase of Drive.ai at unopen to signal recently. And piece the hiring of a handful of engineers from the startup could advise that acquisition was finalized, at that topographic point is no indication inwards this study that that is the case.

Still, it’s worth noting that the initial study regarding an acquisition of Drive.ai was likewise billed equally what’s called an “acqui-hire”, which would meet Apple picking upwards talent from the startup rather than a full-blown acquisition.

So far, v sometime Drive.ai employees convey changed their LinkedIn profiles to rank they left Drive.ai inwards June in addition to joined Apple the same month. Four of those workers listing “special projects” inwards their task titles. Those employees include data, systems in addition to software engineers.

Apple could yet endure inwards talks to finalize whatever sort of acquisition, only it sounds similar a bargain volition demand to endure finalized soon:

Drive.ai plans to unopen its Mountain View component division past times Friday. The cuts include principal executive officer, Bijit Halder, in addition to its directors of finance in addition to robotics, a companionship official said inwards a June 12 alphabetic lineament sent to California’s Employment Development Department.

The abide by said the company’s province of affairs could alter “due to subsequent events beyond Drive.ai’s command or electrical flow knowledge,” wrote Thomas Yih, the company’s full general counsel. Yih did non response to a asking for comment.

Those hired past times Apple upwards to this signal are instantly listed equally component division of the “special projects” sectionalization at Apple.

Software engineers from Drive.ai are a big add-on for Apple, specially equally it continues to come about the Project Titan program. Back inwards February, the companionship confirmed it was laying off nearly 200 engineers from the Project Titan project. And inwards that same calendar month nosotros heard that Apple’s projection could goal upwards being an electrical van.

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