Robohub.org
 

Intel to acquire Mobileye for $15.3 billion


by
14 March 2017



share this:

Source: Intel

Intel announced plans to acquire Israel-based Mobileye, a developer of vision technology used in autonomous driving applications, for $15.3 billion. Mobileye share prices jumped from $47 to $61 (the tender offering price is $63.54) on the news, a 30% premium. The purchase marks the largest acquisition of an Israeli hi-tech company ever.

Source: Frost & Sullivan;VDS Automotive SYS Konferenz 2014/

This transaction jumpstarts Intel’s efforts to enter the emerging autonomous driving marketplace, an arena much different than Intel’s present business model. The process to design and bring a chip to market involves multiple levels of safety checks and approvals as well as incorporation into car company design plans – a process that often takes 4 to 5 years – which is why it makes sense to acquire a company already versed in those activities. As can be seen in the Frost & Sullivan chart on the right, we are presently producing cars with Level 2 and Level 3 automated systems. Intel wants to be a strategic partner going forward to fully automated and driverless Level 4 and Level 5 cars.

Mobileye is a pioneer in the development of vision systems for on-board Driving Assistance Systems; providing data for decision making applications such as Mobileye’s Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning, Headway Monitoring, High Beam Assist and more. Mobileye technology is already included in BMW 5-Series, 6-Series, 7-Series, Volvo S80, XC70 and V70 models, and Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS and STS.

Last year, Intel reorganized and created a new Autonomous Driving Division which included strategic partnerships with, and investments in, Delphi, Mobileye and a bunch of smaller companies involved in the chipmaking and sensor process. Thus, with this acquisition, Intel gains the ability to offer automakers a larger package of all of the components they will need as vehicles become autonomous and perhaps gaining, as well, on their competitors in the field: NXP Semiconductors, Freescale Semiconductor, Cypress Semiconductor, and STMicroelectronics, the company that makes Mobileye’s chips.

Mobileye’s newest chip, the EyeQ4, designed for computer vision processing in ADAS applications, is a low-power supercomputer on a chip. The design features are described in this article by Imagination Technology.

Bottom line:

“They’re paying a huge premium in order to catch up, to get into the front of the line, rather than attempt to build from scratch,” said Mike Ramsey, an analyst with technology researcher Gartner in a BloombergTechnology article.



tags: , , , , ,


Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.
Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.





Related posts :



Social media round-up from #IROS2025

  27 Oct 2025
Take a look at what participants got up to at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

Using generative AI to diversify virtual training grounds for robots

  24 Oct 2025
New tool from MIT CSAIL creates realistic virtual kitchens and living rooms where simulated robots can interact with models of real-world objects, scaling up training data for robot foundation models.

Robot Talk Episode 130 – Robots learning from humans, with Chad Jenkins

  24 Oct 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Chad Jenkins from University of Michigan about how robots can learn from people and assist us in our daily lives.

Robot Talk at the Smart City Robotics Competition

  22 Oct 2025
In a special bonus episode of the podcast, Claire chatted to competitors, exhibitors, and attendees at the Smart City Robotics Competition in Milton Keynes.

Robot Talk Episode 129 – Automating museum experiments, with Yuen Ting Chan

  17 Oct 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Yuen Ting Chan from Natural History Museum about using robots to automate molecular biology experiments.

What’s coming up at #IROS2025?

  15 Oct 2025
Find out what the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems has in store.

From sea to space, this robot is on a roll

  13 Oct 2025
Graduate students in the aptly named "RAD Lab" are working to improve RoboBall, the robot in an airbag.

Robot Talk Episode 128 – Making microrobots move, with Ali K. Hoshiar

  10 Oct 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Ali K. Hoshiar from University of Essex about how microrobots move and work together.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence