Weekly Tech & AI News Digest: Waymo Acquires Apple Test Ground, IBM Quantum Advances, & GitHub Malware Probe
Newsfeed Waymo Acquires Apple’s Former Autonomous Vehicle Test Ground for $220M Waymo has officially purchased a 5,500-acre autonomous vehicle testing facility in Wittmann, Arizona, for $220 million. Acquired from Route 14 Investment Partners—a shell company linked to Apple’s canceled Project Titan self-driving car program—the site was originally purchased by Apple in 2021 for $125 million. This expansive autonomous test ground features a 115-acre simulated city course, a 35-acre vehicle dynamics area, a four-mile oval track, and a dedicated freeway section. Waymo plans to leverage this highly controlled environment to validate its self-driving software and rapidly scale its commercial robotaxi operations. With this strategic acquisition, the Arizona site becomes the largest closed-course testing facility in Waymo’s autonomous network. ...