Apple's scrapped car project means AI and headset bets are more urgent

Apple’s decadelong car effort, known as Project Titan, also was an AI challenge in itself. Apple attempted to build an artificial intelligence system that was powerful and energy-efficient enough to make a car fully autonomous. — Reuters

In abandoning plans for a self-driving car, Apple Inc is giving up on billions in potential revenue and the dream of selling what one executive called "the ultimate mobile device.” The hope is that other big bets – including generative AI and mixed-reality headsets – can make up the difference.

Apple reached this crossroads Tuesday (Feb 27), when it told employees it was winding down the car project and reassigned some of the staff to its AI efforts. The decision followed months of frenzied meetings between top executives and the company’s board over how to proceed. Chief operating officer Jeff Williams and project head Kevin Lynch broke the news to the roughly 2,000-member team during a meeting that lasted less than 15 minutes.