RESEARCH TRIANGLE REPORT – A report from Reuters news service saying Apple is plowing ahead with plans for an autonomous vehicle is giving a boost to North Carolina chip makers Cree and Qorvo. And let’s not forget startup Sense Photonics, which is focused on tech for autonomous vehicles.

“Apple Inc is moving forward with self-driving car technology and is targeting 2024 to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology,” Reuters reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

And here’s where Cree (Nasdaq: CREE), which is based in Durham, and Qorvo (Nasdaq: QRVO), which calls the Triad, home, could benefit.

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“Central to Apple’s strategy is a new battery design that could “radically” reduce the cost of batteries and increase the vehicle’s range, according to a third person who has seen Apple’s battery design,” Reuters added.

Cree is focusing on new power technology through its Wolfspeed subsidiary. Its stock got a big boost last month when JPMorgan said the company is in the “pole position” when it comes to key components for the fast-growing electric vehicle sector.

As for Sense, which recently raised $6 million, CNBC notes that Lidar-related stocks were boosted by the Apple report, too. Sense is a Lidar developer.

“Lidar is a core component for self-driving cars that allows their computers to take a 3D image of the world around them. The sensors measure the range or velocity of objects using a process that is similar to radar — they bounce lasers off objects and when the light returns, the sensors can calculate how far away the object is and if it’s moving,” CNBC reported.

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Qorvo makes a variety of chips coveted in the high-tech sector.

Business news site Seeking Alpha notes that Qorvo shares climbed nearly 2%. It already does considerable business with Apple.

Cree shares improved 2.5%.

“The company has moved away from its lighting and LED roots to focus on the SiC and GaN semiconductor chips used in electric vehicles and 5G,” Seeking Alpha notes.

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