“Project Titan” was Apple's decades-long ambition for self-driving cars that never saw the light of day, and after wasting an estimated $10 billion on the venture, the company finally threw in the towel and shut down project, as reports stated that it was not financially viable. With all employees working in this area either reassigned or laid off, it seems we're finally done with this chapter, but according to the latest report, it's revealed that Apple and Chinese automaker BYD have been partners for years on a custom battery designed specifically for that self-driving vehicle.

The report doesn't go into detail as to why the partnership between Apple and BYD didn't blossom, but it likely had to do with Project Titan being canceled

While Project Titan was still in the works, Apple worked with a number of companies to help develop and mass produce specific components that would eventually complete the self-driving car. According to Bloomberg, one of those companies was BYD, a Chinese automaker that is gaining huge traction in its home market. Unfortunately, nothing long-term came of the deal as the iPhone maker ended the partnership, even though Apple and BYD have been linked for years.

The report does not elaborate on why the relationship between the two companies did not go beyond a certain point, but it may have had to do with the trade sanctions imposed by the US against China, which prevented companies in the region from doing business with the USA to wind up companies or those that are influenced by US authorities. Apple became interested in BYD when its engineers pitched the Blade to executives.

For those who don't know, the Blade was a new lithium iron phosphate battery designed for electric vehicles and known for its safety, durability and longer lifespan. The Blade system proved successful in China and was evidence of why Apple wanted to enter into a long-term partnership with BYD. Regardless of whether Project Titan failed to produce a single commercial vehicle, even a trillion-dollar company like Apple can learn some hard lessons from its failure that it can use for another project.

News source: Bloomberg