Completely unexpected, Airbnbthe company known for its accommodation and experience rental platform, appears to have indirectly confirmed the existence of Apple’s long-running autonomous vehicle development project, dubbed in the industry Project Titan, in an announcement about the hiring of a new chief technology officer.
Airbnb’s official internal memo introducing Ahmad Al-Dahle as its new CTO said he previously led Apple’s autonomous technology group, including work on AI systems for Apple’s self-driving project. Apple never publicly confirmed that this vehicle existed or was still active, but the mention of Al-Dahle is one of the strongest confirmations that the company has been seriously working on such a product for years.
This statement comes in the context of Apple’s broad changes in its AI strategy. The company has significantly shifted its priorities from autonomous vehicles to developing generative artificial intelligence within its existing products in the past year, including contracts to rely on advanced models like Google’s Gemini to upgrade Siri and Apple Intelligence experiences on iPhones and other devices. The move shows that Apple may not be giving up on cars entirely, but instead is rethinking how to incorporate small AI teams and expertise into a broader portfolio of products and services.
A key figure in this discovery, Ahmad Al-Dahle, worked at Apple for nearly two decades, including working on the multitouch and Apple Watch projects before taking the lead on autonomous systems. His experience in developing complex AI technologies and moving to Airbnb, where he will now provide strategic direction in advancing AI products on the platform, shows how experts with deep knowledge of Apple’s AI and autonomous development are now expanding and influencing other parts of the technology ecosystem.
Airbnb plans to use Al-Dahle’s expertise to build generative AI customer support, personalized recommendations, and AI agents to assist travelers and hosts within the app.
Apple’s self-driving car project, which has been run internally for decades under the code name Project Titan, has long been the subject of speculation and occasional media reports, but the company has so far avoided formal confirmation. Wikipedia notes that from 2014 to 2024, Apple researched autonomous technologies and even tested vehicles on public roads, but in 2024 some of that effort was reportedly scaled back and redirected toward AI development.
For Airbnb, this unexpected “discovery” also illuminates the direction of development of the company itself, which not only integrates AI into user experiences, but also wants to be recognized as a technological leader in travel personalization, support and recommendations.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky previously emphasized that the app should become an AI-first product that helps users plan trips and interesting activities without the need for manual search, a vision that coincides with Al-Dahle’s hiring.
Although Apple has not yet officially confirmed that it is continuing to develop an autonomous vehicle as a commercial product, this indirect evidence from Airbnb’s communication indicates that internal efforts existed and that the experts who worked on those projects are today valuable actors in the global AI revolution.
This illuminates both how companies are redistributing talent and how AI is increasingly becoming a central pillar of technology strategies, whether it’s a driverless driving device or global digital platforms like Airbnb, writes Tech Radar.