Intel has inked a deal to acquire Mobileye, which the chipmaker’s chief Brian Krzanich said enables it to “accelerate the future of autonomous driving with improved performance in a cloud-to-car solution at a lower cost for automakers”.
Mobileye offers technology covering computer vision and machine learning, data analysis, localisation and mapping for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving. The deal is said to fit with Intel’s strategy to “invest in data-intensive market opportunities that build on the company’s strengths in computing and connectivity from the cloud, through the network, to the device”.
A combined Intel and Mobileye automated driving unit will be based in Israel and headed by Amnon Shashua, co-founder, chairman and CTO of the acquired company. This, Intel said, “will support both companies’ existing production programmes and build upon relationships with car makers, suppliers and semiconductor partners to develop advanced driving assist, highly-autonomous and fully autonomous driving programmes”.
“Intel provides critical foundational technologies for autonomous driving including plotting the car’s path and making real-time driving decisions. Mobileye brings the industry’s best automotive-grade computer vision and strong momentum with automakers and suppliers,” Krzanich said.
The chipmaker has been pushing hard in the automotive space, setting up its Automated Driving Group in November 2016. It also took a stake in digital mapping company Here. The Mobileye deal is expected to close within the next nine months. It has been approved by both companies’ boards, and is subject to some regulatory and other closing conditions. The offer gives an equity valuation of around $15.3 billion for Mobileye, and enterprise value of $14.7 billion.
