A report by the Verge has revealed that Apple was in talks with EV start-up Canoo for an acquisition or a strategic investment in the first half of 2020. Apple reportedly was interested in Canoo's unique drivetrain which has a scalable skateboard. Apple probably was interested in the start-up because of "Project Titan" which has been bandied as the Apple Car project. Canoo's skateboard integrates more of the vehicle's electronics and also has steer-by-wire technology which allows for flexibility in the interior design of the car. Apple has reportedly been developing a vehicle which will be meant for autonomous passive transportation.
Canoo Electric Van
Apple was reportedly interested in acquiring the company while Canoo wanted more of an investment. Both the companies stopped negotiations when Canoo entered the NASDAQ in December. Canoo's executive chairman Tony Aquila refused to discuss the startup strategies in a statement to the Verge.
This news comes at a time when Apple has reportedly inked a deal with Hyundai to manufacture the Apple Car. Canoo is not the only startup Apple has acquired for its electric driverless car venture - it acquired Drive.AI in 2019. Apple has also poached many engineers and senior executives from Tesla for the same.
While there is a lot of chatter going about the Apple Car it could be around 5-6 years away from coming to fruition.
