Apple has confirmed that it acquired Drive.ai, a Grab-backed developer of autonomous vehicle technology, for an undisclosed sum.
The Asian unicorn led the Californian startup’s September 2017 funding round, which raised US$15 million. This followed a US$50 million series B round in June that year, which valued Drive.ai at around US$200 million.
Photo credit: Drive.ai
According to The Information, Drive.ai has been struggling to stay afloat and began actively seeking buyers in February. Earlier this month, the startup notified authorities in California that it planned to close its business permanently on June 28 and lay off 90 employees.
Axios reported that Drive.ai ceased operations two weeks ago, and that Apple has confirmed its acquisition of the company, having “hired dozens” of its employees. It wasn’t immediately clear if these individuals were among the 90 planned redundancies or represent a separate group of staff.
While the US tech giant didn’t disclose details of the deal, it “was expected to pay less than the US$77 million Drive.ai raised in venture capital, to say nothing of the US$200 million it was valued at two years ago,” the site said. Sources also said that Apple “purchased Drive.ai’s autonomous cars and other assets” in addition to hiring personnel.
At the time of publication, Drive.ai was still listed as a portfolio company on the website of Grab Ventures, the ride-hailing firm’s VC and incubation arm.
Grab declined to comment on Drive.ai when contacted by Tech in Asia.
Update, 3:37 pm – added details on Apple’s reported acquisition of Drive.ai assets and Drive.ai’s official winding-up date.
Editing by Judith Balea
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