Apple’s failed self-driving car program left a legacy of powerful AI chips

Short summary

Apple's canceled self-driving car project drove the development of the Neural Engine, the on-device AI processor that debuted with the iPhone X's A11 Bionic chip. According to Mark Gurman's Power On newsletter, the car processor was never finished but its AI processing requirements led directly to Apple's current chip advantage. The Neural Engine initially powered FaceID and Animoji before becoming the backbone of Apple's broader AI strategy.

• •Apple's self-driving car program catalyzed Neural Engine development for on-device AI
• •Neural Engine debuted with iPhone X A11 Bionic, initially for FaceID and computer vision
• •The canceled car project's chip work became Apple's AI hardware foundation

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