Apple invested $1 billion in a ride-hailing company that was named Didi Chuxing (that is now Didi Global) back in 2016. Considering that there were whispers of Apple developing an autonomous vehicle beginning to emerge, this investment was an eye-opener. At the time, Didi said in a statement that the funding from Apple was the single largest investment it had ever received.

On August 4, Didi Global Inc announced that Apple's VP of Corporate Development, Adrian Percia, had resigned from the board – as noted in the image below.

(Click on image to Enlarge)

In a report from Bloomberg late last night, they stated that since Didi Global went ahead with a US initial public offering against Beijing’s wishes in June last year, Didi’s ride-hailing app had been pulled from China’s mobile stores, preventing meaningful growth and erasing more than 80% of its market value.

Then in May, "Didi said it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange. Last month, it was fined $1.2 billion by the Chinese government for infractions that Beijing said compromised national security, ending a yearlong probe."

Was Adrian Percia's resignation dictated indirectly from the Chinese Government? Didi Global's minimalist public announcement on the matter may suggest just that.