Airbnb seemingly confirms Apple’s self-driving car — and what it reveals about Apple’s AI shift, and Airbnb’s future
Airbnb’s CTO hiring news seemingly confirms Apple’s long-rumored self-driving car projectIt adds context to Apple’s broader AI strategy, especially with the Google partnership newsIt also shows off Airbnb’s AI ambitions, which are decidedly focused on the human element Apple is known for being one of the most secretive companies in tech, rarely confirming projects in development and typically announcing new hardware or software only when the timing is right. Entire initiatives can live – and quietly die – inside Cupertino without ever being publicly acknowledged. That’s why it’s notable that, after years of rumors surrounding Apple’s work on autonomous vehicles, an unexpected confirmation appears to have come from Airbnb. As part of a publicly shared internal announcement naming Ahmad Al-Dahle as Airbnb’s new Chief Technology Officer, a memo sent to employees states: “In 2014, Ahmad created and led Apple’s autonomous technology group, responsible for developing the core AI systems for the company’s self-driving car project.” (Image credit: […]