Intel Corp said on Monday planned to take the Mobileye self-driving unit in the United States in mid 2022, an agreement that could appreciate the Israeli unit of more than $ 50 billion, someone who was familiar with the problem to Reuters.
The giant chip Intel, the largest working giver of the Israeli high-tech industry with nearly 14,000 workers, expects to defend the Mobileye executive team and hold on majority ownership in the unit after an initial public offering (IPO) from the new cellphone stock issued.
Intel has no intention of releasing or rotating the majority ownership in Mobileye, the company said https://bwnews.pr/3lif1xt in a statement, adding that it will continue to provide technical resources to car makers.
This partnership continues to generate strong income along with free cash flow to Mobileye which allows funding for autonomous vehicle development, Chief Executive Mobileye Amnon Shashua said in the release.
“Amnon and I decided that IPO gave the best opportunity to build a track record of Mobileye for innovation and open the value for shareholders,” said CEO Intel Pat Gelsinger in a statement.
Gelsinger has been under pressure from activist investors like the third point LLC to consider playing expensive chip making operations, even when the company has seen to expand the capacity of sophisticated chip manufacturing in the United States and Europe in the midst of global semiconductor deficiency.
Intel bought Mobileye for $ 15.3 billion in 2017, put it in a direct competition with rival Nvidia Corp and Qualcomm Inc.
to develop a driver without a driver for global car makers.
Carmakers, including General Motors, Ford and Toyota, raced to shift from gasoline-powered lineup to all electricity and have invested significantly on models with features such as assist technology and self-driving systems.
Moburyeye, founded in 1999, has taken a different strategy from many competitors of cars driving, with camera-based systems today that help cars with adaptive cruise ship control and path change assistance.
The company plans to build a “Lidar” sensor itself to help its cars map three-dimensional road views and use the Lidar unit from Luminar technology on Robotaxis early in the meantime.
Despite being owned by Intel, Mobileye never used an Intel factory to make her chips, instead depending on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
for all “eyes” chips to date.
Wall Street Journal first reported Intel’s intention to include shares.