Apple Hires Self-Driving Car Startup Founder and Former BMW Exec Ulrich Kranz

Former BMW senior executive and self-driving vehicle startup founder Ulrich Kranz has taken on a role at Apple working on the company's autonomous car project, reports Bloomberg.

Apple car wheel icon feature yellow
Kranz founded Canoo, a self-driving car startup that he left earlier this year. Prior to creating Canoo, Kranz helped to develop the i3 and i8 vehicles at BMW, where he was employed for 30 years.

According to Bloomberg, Kranz's hiring is a sign that Apple is determined to build a self-driving vehicle that will rival Tesla. Kranz will report to Apple Car lead Doug Fields, who works under AI chief John Giannandrea.

Rumors about Apple's car project have picked up in recent months as Apple now appears to be looking for suppliers and manufacturing partners to develop the vehicle. There were rumors that Apple would work with Hyundai's Kia division, but it's not clear if that relationship has progressed.

Development on the ‌Apple Car‌ remains in the early stages, and Bloomberg suggests that it will be at around five years before the product is ready to debut.

Related Roundup: Apple Car

Top Rated Comments

H.E. Pennypacker Avatar
31 months ago

20 years from now.: "Apple hires Dale, who worked in the service department of a Buick dealer in Des Moines during his senior year of High School, to head its Apple Car project."
Dale’s a great guy and always a blast at the company Christmas party.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
visualseed Avatar
31 months ago

Too late for Apple to join the party, Google is 5-10 years ahead of any other players in the game, no way for others to catch up.
Cool. Where can I buy a Google car?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghanwani Avatar
31 months ago

Cool. Where can I buy a Google car?
I would offer to sell you one ('https://www.npr.org/2021/06/01/1002018211/italian-artist-sells-invisible-sculpture-for-real-money') but the moderators will come after me if I do.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H.E. Pennypacker Avatar
31 months ago
Is this the same Ulrich Von Liechtenstein of Gelderland that defeated Count Adhemar of Anjou in the Joust?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FNH15 Avatar
31 months ago

Is this the same Ulrich Von Liechtenstein of Gelderland that defeated Count Adhemar of Anjou in the Joust?
I believe this is the same designer who worked with Art Vandalay on the new Guggenheim addition. From what I understand it didn’t take that long either.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macsplusmacs Avatar
31 months ago
iDrive.

No Apple Car, YOU DRIVE.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

M3 Chip Apple Event Slide

First Benchmark Results Surface for M3 Chip in New Macs

Wednesday November 1, 2023 7:53 am PDT by
The first benchmark results for the standard M3 chip surfaced in the Geekbench 6 database today, providing a closer look at the chip's CPU performance improvements. Based on the results so far, the M3 chip has single-core and multi-core scores of around 3,000 and 11,700, respectively. The standard M2 chip has single-core and multi-core scores of around 2,600 and 9,700, respectively, so the...
iOS 17

Apple Preparing to Release iOS 17.1.1 Update for iPhone

Thursday November 2, 2023 1:22 pm PDT by
Apple appears to be internally testing an iOS 17.1.1 update for the iPhone, based on evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs this week. iOS 17.1.1 will almost certainly be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues the update will address. The update could include the same fix for Wi-Fi connectivity issues that Apple rolled out in the first iOS 17.2 beta,...
m3 pro chip

Apple M3 Pro Chip Has 25% Less Memory Bandwidth Than M1/M2 Pro

Tuesday October 31, 2023 3:11 am PDT by
Apple's latest M3 Pro chip in the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro has 25% less memory bandwidth than the M1 Pro and M2 Pro chips used in equivalent models from the two previous generations. Based on the latest 3-nanometer technology and featuring all-new GPU architecture, the M3 series of chips is said to represent the fastest and most power-efficient evolution of Apple silicon thus far. ...
AitTag New Firmware

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirTags

Tuesday October 31, 2023 11:26 am PDT by
Apple today released a new firmware update designed for the AirTag item trackers. The firmware features a build number of 2A61, up from the 2A36 firmware that came out last December. It has been nearly a year since Apple updated the firmware on the AirTags, and there is no word yet on what might be included in the update. Today's firmware release will be rolling out on a staggered basis....
M3 Max Chip

M3 Max Chip Around as Fast as M2 Ultra in Early Benchmark Results

Wednesday November 1, 2023 7:27 pm PDT by
The first benchmark results for Apple's M3 Max chip surfaced in the Geekbench 6 database today, providing a look at CPU performance. Based on the "Mac15,9" model identifier shown, the results appear to be for the new 16-inch MacBook Pro. The highest multi-core score for the M3 Max with a 16-core CPU is currently 21,084 as of writing. If this early result is accurate, this means the M3 Max is ...
10 New Features With iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Coming Later This Year With These 10 New Features for iPhone

Friday November 3, 2023 1:23 pm PDT by
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers and public beta testers last week, and the software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones. Below, we have highlighted 10 of these new features and changes. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in December. Once available, the update can be installed in the Settings app under General → Software...
Pro Display XDR Red

Macs With M3 Chip Still Officially Support Only a Single External Display

Thursday November 2, 2023 7:41 am PDT by
Macs equipped with the standard M3 chip still support only one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz, according to Apple's tech specs. So far, the chip is available in the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro and the 24-inch iMac. This limitation has existed since the first Apple silicon Macs with the M1 chip were released in 2020, but users can connect multiple external displays to...
apple music voice plan feature blue green

Apple Music's Lower-Priced Voice Plan Being Discontinued

Wednesday November 1, 2023 11:51 am PDT by
The lower-cost Apple Music Voice Plan is being discontinued this month in the U.S. and all other countries where it was available, according to an Apple support document. Brazilian website MacMagazine was first to alert us to this news. "Beginning in November, Apple will discontinue the Apple Music Voice plan," said Apple. "We are focused on delivering the best, most robust music experience...