Nearly seven years ago, in an effort to branch out beyond a maturing market for its flagship product, Apple began working on something quite different.

The iPhone maker tried its best to keep what was known as “Project Titan” under wraps, but anything involving the world’s most valuable company was bound to attract attention — particularly if it involved trying to make its own self-driving car.

Starting a car company from scratch, however, is famously difficult, even for a company with tens of billions in cash lying around. The initiative struggled through changes in direction and leadership, and shed hundreds of engineering jobs at the beginning of 2019.