Intel has announced that it will go public with Mobileye, the Israeli self-driving technology company it bought for $15.3 billion in 2017. Intel intends to unlock additional value for its stockholders by listing Mobileye’s shares on the stock market, according to the chipmaker. Mobileye’s principal stakeholder will remain Intel.
In a statement, Intel hailed the company’s acquisition as a huge success, claiming that Mobileye’s revenue in 2021 was 40% greater than the previous year. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger stated that an IPO “provides the best opportunity to build on Mobileye’s track record for innovation and unlock value for shareholders.”
The announcement comes as a number of electric and autonomous vehicle firms have gone public in recent months, with mixed results. Despite this surge in public market interest, the audiovisual industry has struggled with unrealistic expectations, missed deadlines, closed enterprises, and a slew of technological issues. Despite this, numerous companies have stated that they are nearing commercialization after years of testing and research.
Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram founded the firm in Jerusalem in 1999 to create systems and chips that enable automobiles travel independently and deliver accident alerts. Tesla employed Mobileye processors for its Autopilot system at first, but the company cut relations following a fatal accident in which Tesla alleges Mobileye’s technology couldn’t tell the difference between a laterally crossing truck and the sky behind it. The EyeQ4 chip is now found in the NIO ES6 and ES8, Nissan’s ProPilot 2.0, Volkswagen’s Travel Assistant in the Passat and Golf, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, and the F-150 truck.
Mobileye is now developing four products with differing levels of automation, including an advanced driver assist system (ADAS) that it already offers to 25 firms and a “premium” ADAS that will debut with Zeekr, a Chinese electric vehicle brand owned by Geely. Lidar, a sensor that employs lasers to identify the real-time location of objects on the road, will not be included in any ADAS system.
The other two Mobileye products will use lidar and will have more advanced automation technology. Mobileye Drive is a self-driving system based on the company’s EyeQ system-on-a-chip and a data crowdsourcing programme called Road Experience Management, or REM, which combines real-time data from Mobileye-equipped vehicles to create a worldwide 3D map. Customers such as Udelv, Transdev, Lohr, and Schaeffler will employ this device for autonomous delivery vans and self-driving shuttles.
Mobileye also wants to run its own robotaxis, with ambitions to launch an autonomous ride-hailing service in Germany in 2022. It also stated that it plans to test its vehicles in New York City, which is notoriously dense and difficult to test AVs in, but that it is currently in talks with local regulators for approval.