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

Although Apple's self-driving car initiative ultimately failed, it necessitated the development of powerful on-device AI processing. This research led directly to the creation of the Neural Engine, first introduced in the A11 Bionic chip for the iPhone X. Today, the Neural Engine is the backbone of Apple’s AI hardware, enabling advanced computer vision and privacy-focused local processing across its M-series chips. Looking forward, Apple is prioritizing AI hardware by accelerating the M7 chip development, which is expected to feature significant Neural Engine upgrades and support a future server product.

(Source：The Verge)