Though Apple’s self-driving project was not proceeding well in 2019, this cooperation could be a key to help the company to make it through.
TSMC, Taiwan, semiconductor
According to Digitimes, Apple plans to cooperate with TSMC in self-driving vehicles chips projects and establish a factory in the United States. Meanwhile, TSMC is cooperating with STMicroelectronics to develop gallium nitride (GaN) technology for hybrid electric vehicle converters and chargers, which may also be related to Apple’s self-driving plan.
In August 2019, Apple applied for a patent related to autonomous driving technology, which allows iPhone users to issue parking instructions to vehicles. Currently, Apple still focuses on developing autonomous driving technology equipped with EVs from other companies, instead of manufacturing vehicles. However, Digitimes said that Apple may launch an independent-developed vehicle, "Apple Car", around 2024 or 2025.
In 2019, Apple's autonomous driving project was not proceeding well enough. The company cuts the number of project-related employees from 5,000 to 200. The road tests have also been greatly reduced. The number of vehicles on the road test is only one-third of the registered ones, and the road test mileage is less than 10% in 2018. In this sense, whether this cooperation with TSMC helps the project is worth paying attention to.