Report: Apple poaching Samsung engineers w/ chip & battery expertise

While Apple has notably been engaged in a back-and-forth poaching war with electric vehicle maker Tesla in recent months, a new report from The Korea Times claims that Apple has also been targeting “experts in next-generation technology” from Samsung Electronics. Citing an anonymous official from Samsung, the report highlights that the iPhone maker has a history of picking off chip experts from the Korean company using competitive compensation and “greater independence” as engineers.

Apple hasn’t stopped at just recruiting chip makers from Samsung, though, as its ambitions recently expanded to include the possibility of an electric vehicle down the road. According to the official cited by The Korea Times, Apple has targeted Samsung’s battery experts as well.

That Apple is bolstering its in-house chip making expertise is no surprise, but the reported focus on recruiting battery experts is interesting if Apple does plan to bring its own electric vehicle to market. While the report doesn’t explicitly distinguish that these hires have been car-focused rather than for Apple’s other rechargeable devices like the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and upcoming Apple Watch, the anonymous source does believe the hires are motivated by Apple’s EV plans.

“As the electric vehicle business is a new one, Apple needs patents and experts in battery technology. Top human resources firms have been approaching Samsung’s battery experts, individually, and I think such human exchange moves are a win-win for both,” said the official.

Aside from the reported Samsung battery expert hires whose expertise would inevitably spill over into the battery-powered car space for Apple, we profiled several of the automobile experts actively working on the project at Apple last week illustrating the scope of Apple’s reported car project. Most recently, it was reported that Apple is targeting the year 2020 to unveil its electric vehicle to the public.