Tim Cook Confirms Apple Is Developing Autonomous Car Technology

Apple's CEO elaborated on the self-driving vehicle project for the first time.

June 13, 2017 11:56 am
Apple confirmed it autonomous car project. (Cristina Arias/Cover/Getty Images)
Apple confirmed it autonomous car project. (Cristina Arias/Cover/Getty Images)

Tim Cook has finally confirmed Apple’s long-suspected automotive ambition.

For the first time, Apple’s CEO acknowledged the company is developing self-driving car technology. However, the project is not quite what was expected.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Cook revealed on Tuesday that Apple was “focusing on autonomous systems” and referred to it was “the mother of all A.I. projects.”

Since 2015, various outlets have speculated Apple was secretly working on an autonomous car. Those rumors seemed to be supported by Bloomberg‘s report in April that the company had been given a license to test a self-driving car on highways by the California DMV.

However, Cook wouldn’t go so far as to say Apple what developing a vehicle. “We’re not really saying from a product point of view what we will do,” the CEO said.

Two months ago, Apple recently revamped its AI development team, according to Business Insider. Many understood that as a sign the company was having trouble with its self-driving car project. That’s something Cook alluded to in his Bloomberg interview when he said, “It’s probably one of the most difficult A.I. projects actually to work on.”

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