Intel is acquiring self-driving technology company Mobileye as it gears up plans to put a fleet of autonomous vehicles on the road this year.
The chipmaker today announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire Mobileye, an Israeli tech firm focused on developing technology for self-driving cars. The acquisition is worth $63.54 per share, or about $15 billion total in a record breaking deal that marks the highest price paid for an autonomous driving specialist and for an Israeli tech company. Intel expects the deal to close in less than a year, and both companies' boards have already signed off.
The acquisition will result in a single autonomous-driving unit that combines Mobileye with Intel's Automated Driving Group. The group will be headquartered in Israel, and it will be led by Amnon Shashua, currently Mobileye's chairman and CTO.
Both Intel and Mobileye have been working with BMW on a fleet of self-driving vehicles due to start testing on the roads in the second half of this year.
Mobileye, founded in 1999, specialises in systems that prevent collisions and help autonomous cars navigate, accounting for 70pc of the global market.
Intel, meanwhile, has been developing a new chip that is designed to power autonomous vehicles. Having missed out on the smartphone market to rival chipmaker ARM, Intel is determined to be a major player in autonomous vehicles.
Intel and Mobileye aren't exactly strangers. The two companies have an established partnership with multiple companies in the automotive sector. Mobileye lent its software-side prowess to Delphi for its autonomous research and development, with Intel providing the processors. The two also partnered with BMW, which believes it can bring a self-driving mode to its vehicles by 2021.
"The acquisition of Mobileye essentially merges the intelligent eyes of the autonomous car with the intelligent brain that actually drives the car," said Brian Krzanich, chief executive of Intel.
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