Apple taps BlackBerry talent for self-driving software project, report says
Apple has hired the former head of BlackBerry's automotive software division as new leadership for the iPhone-maker's car team, adding to a laundry list of Apple's latest efforts to develop self-driving technology, Bloomberg said Thursday.
Dan Dodge, founder and former CEO of QNX, the operating system developer that BlackBerry acquired in 2010, joined Apple earlier this year, Bloomberg reported. Dodge is now part of a team headed by Bob Mansfield, who has led a recent shift in strategy at Apple, according to a person familiar with the plan, Bloomberg wrote.
Apple declined to comment on this story, and BlackBerry didn't respond immediately to CNBC's request for comment.
While at QNX, Dodge developed BlackBerry's latest proprietary mobile operating system, which is still used in some smartphones. It also makes the entertainment, navigation and connected-device systems used by Volkswagen and Ford, among others. Dodge left QNX in December, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Now at Apple, Dodge will be working under Mansfield, who reports directly to CEO Tim Cook. According to Bloomberg's report, Cook is now prioritizing the development of an autonomous driving system, though Apple isn't abandoning efforts to design its own vehicle in the future.