Intel, for quite some time, had teamed up with Israel based computer vision firm Mobileye. The company was working with them over computer vision for autonomous driving technology. It looks like partnership was the first step in a bigger plan, as Intel has now acquired Mobileye for $15.3 Billion. This is the biggest ever acquisition of a tech firm in Israel. The acquisition process has begun, and will be completed in nine months.
Mobileye is a popular name when it comes to computer vision technology. The company is known for their computer vision technology which aids a number of operations. Their focus has recently been on high definition mapping and driving policy intelligence behind driving decisions. Intel has been working with them for a while now on developing gen-next computer vision based technologies for autonomous driving. Intel has been one of the many tech firms working on technology that powers self driving cars. Mobileye also works on sensor fusion technologies, as well as cameras.
Mobileye’s CTO Amnon Shashua says that the company has been working with 27 different car makers over autonomous driving technologies. The company is now going to lead Intel’s autonomous driving division, which will be based in Israel. Intel SVP Doug Davis is overseeing how the two companies will coordinate together. With this acquisition, the autonomous driving division of Intel is all set to get a major boost!
This is not the first time an Israel based computer vision company is in the news. Apple and Google too, have acquired Israel based firms working on computer vision and machine learning technology in the past, most notably Google’s acquisition of Waze and Apple’s acquisition of PrimeSense. Mobileye employees will continue reporting to Shashua. Intel’s deal with the company includes Intel acquiring all the shares of Mobileye at $63.54 per share in cash.