Apple’s self-driving car dream is dead, but its old proving ground will go on testing other self-driving cars. Waymo, the robotaxi company owned by Alphabet, has acquired the 5,500-acre proving ground in Wittmann, Arizona that Apple used to test prototypes for Project Titan, according to Maricopa County filings. Waymo purchased the massive site for $220 million from Route 14 Investment Partners, a shell company linked to Apple. Route 14 previously bought the testing site for $125 million in 2021 before Apple ultimately canceled its multibillion-dollar car project. Now, those same test roads will be driven on by Waymos. The site includes a 115-acre city course, a 35-acre vehicle dynamics area, a four-mile oval track, and a freeway course designed for autonomous vehicle testing, according to Waymo. The company said the facility will be used to simulate driving scenarios in a controlled environment to test and improve its autonomous driving system Waymo Driver. Testing at the site will include rider-only testing, motion control testing, and operational training workflows.
The Arizona site will become Waymo’s third proving ground, joining sites in California and Ohio. The news comes as Waymo has quickly expanded its fleet and coverage area. In total, Waymo said it will soon cover more than 1,400 square miles across 11 cities. The company bragged that its coverage area will eventually be larger than the entire state of Rhode Island, which is roughly 1,200 square miles.
