Last year, Apple made an unusual move — announcing a $1 billion investment Chinese ride-hailing service Didi
The deal was far larger and more public than most Apple
Cook penned a profile honoring Jean Liu, president of Didi
But he quickly shifted focus to the vast amount of data that Didi monitors, and its "big-data algorithms."
"By analyzing commuter patterns the way oceanographers track the tides, Didi may help traffic jams go the way of the flip phone," Cook writes.
The comment about the algorithms builds on Cook's earlier comments, where he said that Apple was always on the look out for
"From a Didi point of view, we see that as one, a great investment. Two, we think that
Data is important for testing self-driving cars — something Apple and Didi have almost certainly been mulling. Data can also become products: Uber has reportedly considered selling its data.
For more Time 100 profiles, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, see Time.com
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