Intel acquires Mobileye for the largest foreign takeover in Israeli financial history. The deal was worth $15.3 billion.
Apparently, the jaw-dropping price of the Intel contract is also the highest payment ever recorded for any driverless car company. As a matter of fact, Google bought Waze for $966 million only. Mobileye, therefore, appears to have something very important that if developed properly, it may change the tech industry.
Intel & the potential of Mobileye
According to Recode, car builders and suppliers are creating different parts of the whole "self-driving" car concept. For one thing, NVIDIA deals with the mapping technology. Well, it is perfectly understandable since the industry is still in its baby steps. Mobileye, however, is one of the rare organizations with the most sophisticated set of tools and techniques that got the attention of Intel.
Mobileye focuses on manufacturing cameras and laser sensors which it sells to about 27 car companies worldwide. On the other hand, Intel has an automotive division but its free-driving models are significantly lower that its direct inroads. Interestingly, the two firms could marry data-crunching and sensor tech if they work together.
It is believed that a few years from now, vehicles would have computing capabilities just like smartphones and tablets. That is why Intel purchased Mobileye. The former sees cars as "data centers on wheels". Allegedly, they could generate as much as four terabytes of data per day.
Role of Mobileye in Intel operations
Per Clean Technica, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich estimates that vehicle systems, data, and servers market will boost for up to $70 in 2030. This motivates the firm to invest in data-intensive opportunities that build on its computing and connectivity strengths. Mobileye is a major producer of driving assistance systems that are now installed into modern cars.
Mobileye is already celebrating its 18th year in the vehicle manufacturing business. It is based in Jerusalem and concentrates on the idea of autonomous driving. This particular tech race is currently dominated by Tesla, Google, and Apple as of now.
"Intel provides critical technologies like plotting the car's path or making real-time road decisions," Krzanich stressed. For its part, Mobileye provides the world's best automotive-grade computer vision and one of the strongest relationships with suppliers. "Together, we can accelerate the future of autonomous driving with improved performance at a lower cost for automakers," Krzanich ended.
