Apple Met with Electric Vehicle Startup Canoo in First Half of 2020

Apple’s electric vehicle (EV) plans are starting to come to light, as ‘Project Titan’ continues to move forward.

Now, according to The Verge, Apple met with EV startup Canoo in the first half of 2020. Discussions involved “investment to an acquisition,” said unnamed sources.

Apple was interested in California-based Canoo’s scalable EV “skateboard” platform, which allows for more integration of vehicle electronics and offers more flexible interior designs, while also includes steer-by-wire technology.

The talks ultimately fell apart, as Canoo wanted an investment from Apple instead. Canoo told The Verge it doesn’t comment on its strategic discussions, and naturally, Apple declined to comment.

The meetings took place in Silicon Valley, China and beyond, during 2019 and 2020.

What’s the link between Canoo and Apple? Canoo is backed by the Apple supplier TPK based in Taiwan, which supplies touchscreen technology to the iPhone maker.

Canoo has its origins from a small number of employees that left EV startup Faraday Future, joined by some former BMW executives.

A recent SEC filing by Canoo says it is “currently in discussions with multiple other blue-chip industry participants interested in leveraging Canoo’s technologies and engineering expertise for their own commercial products,” suggesting the startup could still be working with companies like Apple in its EV ambitions.