GM hires Apple cloud services exec as software needs ramps up

At the same time, GM said its upcoming electric vehicles would not offer Apple CarPlay or Android Auto smartphone connectivity, as it instead plans to implement its own embedded software solution, developed with Google.

“We have entered the next phase of our technology driven transformation focused on rapidly scaling new EV models and our Ultifi software platform,” Barra said in a statement. “Mike’s experience as a founder and entrepreneur coupled with his proven track record creating and delivering some of the market’s most compelling software-defined solutions for consumers and companies make him an excellent fit at GM.”

Abbott has been vice president of engineering for Apple’s cloud services team, which developed the infrastructure for iCloud and iMessage. He previously was general partner at venture capital fund Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, where he worked on investments around mobile and cloud computing, and he had roles at Twitter, Palm and Microsoft, GM said. He also was a visiting scholar at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab at Stanford University, researching computer vision.

Bringing in someone with outside technology expertise makes sense for GM, which is focused on building consumer-facing platforms that are fun and easy to use, said David Whiston, U.S. autos equity analyst with Morningstar Research Services.

That will be particularly important if GM eventually wants people to pay for software and services, said Whiston.

“You look at the recent GM announcement to stop using Apple CarPlay. The reason they’re doing that is because they want to have a GM tech ecosystem that could be monetized for GM and not for a tech company like Apple, so you need outstanding software people to be able to pull that off,” Whiston said.

“People may be angry at GM now for doing it, but if GM comes up with something that ends up being great and makes people not want Apple CarPlay, then it’ll prove to be the right move,” he said. “Hiring Mike is a key step in trying to make that happen.”