Apple Inc, which laid off dozens of employees from its secretive car project this month, is increasingly seeking help from outside companies with expertise in vehicles.
The tech giant has been talking with McLaren, a British automaker known for its Formula One racecars, about an investment in the company, according to two people briefed on the talks who asked to remain anonymous because the discussions were confidential.
Apple is also in talks with Lit Motors, a San Francisco startup that has developed an electric self-balancing motorcycle, about a potential acquisition, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Apple has already hired several former Lit Motors engineers.
Even as many Silicon Valley companies — including Google, Tesla Motors Inc and Uber Technologies Inc — have embarked on electric and driverless car initiatives, Apple has kept quiet.
Yet internally, it has pursued a car project — called Project Titan — that has had ups and downs in leadership and direction. The layoffs at the project this month came after the appointment of an Apple veteran, Bob Mansfield, to take over the effort.
Inside Apple, employees recently described the firm’s efforts to build a car as a project lacking vision and in complete disarray.
The recent layoffs, followed by Apple’s pursuit of talent and expertise from outside companies, are part of the company’s effort to “reboot” the project, said people with knowledge of the layoffs.
Apple declined to comment, as did Lit Motors.
Wayne Bruce, a spokesman for McLaren, said in an emailed statement that the company was “not in discussion with Apple in respect of any potential investment.”
However, McLaren did not deny having had conversations with Apple.
In a telephone call, Bruce added: “The nature of our business means we regularly have conversations with all sorts of parties, but those conversations remain confidential. We’re not in a position to confirm or deny any previous conversation.”
A partnership with McLaren would allow Apple to tap into the carmaker’s high-end automotive technology, forged by years of building F1 racecars and selling sports cars topping US$1 million.
For years, McLaren has been recognized as an innovator in automotive technology. As one example, the company pioneered the use of a single device to control a car’s engine, transmission and electrical systems.
McLaren also invented a simulator for designing and testing F1 cars, a technology that it recently began marketing to mainstream automakers.
McLaren’s sales are steadily growing, but the company’s bet on research took a bite from its profit. Last year, McLaren, which is backed by private shareholders, sold 1,654 cars, five more than the year before. Its profit slid 64 percent to about US$7 million, from US$19.4 million in 2014, in part because of increased spending on research.
An acquisition of Lit Motors could also help Apple rethink its strategy with building an electric car and bring engineering talent into the company.
For years, Lit Motors has worked on the C-1, an electric motorcycle that relies on two large gyroscopes, which prevent it from tipping over. The two-wheeler was designed to have the efficiency of a bicycle and motorcycle but the safety of a car.
The startup’s plans stalled after CEO Daniel Kim was involved in a motorcycle crash last year.
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