Apple computer navigation engineer departs for mysterious automaker Faraday Future

Computer vision and vehicle navigation specialist Bart Nabbe has left Apple's "Special Projects" division, and is now working at electric car company Faraday Future.

Nabbe worked for Apple's between September 2014 and July of 2016. He is adjunct faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, and has worked in robot navigation, coordination of multiple robots in hazardous environments simultaneously, robot vision improvement, and autonomous navigation in urban environments.

Previously listed as working in Apple's Special Projects division, Nabbe's body of work suggests that the specific Apple special project that he was working on is Project Titan, also known as the development group for a possible "Apple Car."

Nabbe's LinkedIn profile now lists him as the director of strategic partnerships at Faraday Future.

Faraday Future is in startup mode, and focuses on electric vehicles and autonomous navigation solutions. The company's first electric single-seat concept vehicle debuted at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, after two years in development. The company has no timeline for expansion of the line, nor has it commented on if the premiere vehicle will see retail sale.

Dan Dodge, the former CEO of QNX, left BlackBerry for Apple earlier this year. Dodge also works in Apple's Special Projects team, and is suspected to be involved in "Project Titan."

Bob Mansfield has reportedly been put in charge of Apple's automotive project, which was said to be at a crossroads in the development cycle in January.

13 Comments

bigmaconcampus 4 comments · 15 Years

About 8 years ago

"Director of strategic partnerships", intriguing, for sure. Speculation would suggest that he's "on-loan".
This may not be new, but has anyone suggested that Faraday Future is Apple Car, out in the open in plain sight! :wink:

robertwalter 276 comments · 9 Years

bigmaconcampus said:

"Director of strategic partnerships", intriguing, for sure. Speculation would suggest that he's "on-loan".
This may not be new, but has anyone suggested that Faraday Future is Apple Car, out in the open in plain sight! :wink:

I think these are two different companies.

S partnerships is more likely to mean that FF is behind the curve on autonomous drive IP and needs to cozy up with the supply base.

A retired former colleague was consulting for FF and instead of getting all new Apple gear, he bought MS because of compatibility needs with FF's Office suite (He's a master technologist but it seems computer gear and software are a void in his knowledge base.)

ronmg 163 comments · 11 Years

Well, I would imagine that Apple would have had Nabbe sign a non-compete as part of signing onto Titan, so this would support the partnership that bigmaconcampus suggested. Or, FF paid Apple a large amount of money to buy Nabbe out of the non-compete.

nolamacguy 4750 comments · 10 Years

non competes aren't enforceable in right to work states. I once hired an employment attorney who confirmed this in my state.

dick applebaum 12525 comments · 17 Years

nolamacguy said:

non competes aren't enforceable in right to work states. I once hired an employment attorney who confirmed this in my state.

Don't think that CA is a right to work state. FF is located in San Jose & consists of 700+ people -- not your typical size Apple acquisition.

However, there may be other opportunities: invest; joint venture; licensing tech; contracted manufacturing ...