Apple reportedly acquires self-driving car startup Drive.ai (AAPL)
Apple has acquired self-driving car startup Drive.ai, according to a new report by Axios.
While a purchase price wasn't disclosed, the company was at one time valued at $200 million. Axios further reports that "dozens" of Drive.ai engineers have joined Apple following the acquisition, while the company itself recently ceased operations.
The news comes after the Information reported earlier in June that Apple was interested in acquiring Drive.aiâ with a particular eye towards bringing on its engineering talent.
Earlier on Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle had reported that Drive.ai planned to shut down and lay off 90 employees by the end of June, citing a filing with California state authorities. However, it appears that the filing may have been premature, given news that the Apple acquisition was apparently finalized.
Drive.ai's product was unique â rather than create self-driving cars from scratch, the company made "kits" to turn regular cars into autonomous vehicles.
Apple, for its part, has been investing heavily in its own automotive ambitions, including working on self-driving car technology.
The company had raised $77 million in five funding rounds, according to Crunchbase, with investors including New Enterprise Associates and Nvidia GPU Ventures.
A spokesperson for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
