BMW’s autonomous cars to benefit from the Intel acquisition of Mobileye

Market research firm Yole Développement expects advanced imaging technology for automotive applications to be worth $7.3 billion by 2021, with ADAS accounting for 51 per cent of this revenue. It’s just another example of how companies view autonomous driving tech. Last year, it teamed up with Delphi Automotive to develop the building blocks for a fully autonomous vehicle. We are a data company.

According to a letter sent to Intel employees, Mobileye won’t be integrated into Intel.

Mobileye brings a broad portfolio that includes cameras, sensor chips, in-car networking, roadway mapping, machine learning, cloud software and data fusion and management.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani reiterated his sector perform rating and price target of 37 for Intel after the acquisition news. It’s also clear from the announcement that Mobileye’s established relationship with those automakers made it an attractive purchase for Intel.

The Intel-Mobileye deal is the latest autonomous tech deal.

Mobileye develops technology that essentially gives computers a sense of their physical surroundings and it has also been creating ties to get that technology onto the road. The technology uses artificial vision sensors placed in the cars, which Mobileye says act like a “driver’s third eye”.

Another notable technology that Mobileye holds is Road Experience Management (REM), which a mapping software that was released previous year. Mobileye is a Tier 2 automotive supplier that works with all major Tier 1 suppliers, who sell to automotive giants such as General Motors and Volkswagen AG. The driver, however, must remain attentive as the technology is not suited for city driving and still needs improvement as recent accidents involving this tech highlight.

During a call this morning announcing the deal, Mobileye’s co-founder Amnon Shashua told reporters the company is working with 27 vehicle manufacturers, including 10 production programs with Audi, BMW and others. Mobileye offices in the U.S., China, Germany and Japan. In the best case scenario, Mobileye hopes that EyeQ 5 will be ready for mass production around the same time. “As cars progress from assisted driving to fully autonomous, they are increasingly becoming data centers on wheels”, Intel said in a statement announcing the Mobileye deal.

Mobileye, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has a market value of $10.5 billion.

Through Wind River’s acquisition, Intel could already offer operating system, security competencies and a complete open source platform to address the scalability requirements and complexity of forthcoming in-vehicle electronics. Aquarius Engines, which has designed and developed an engine to generate electric power, is working with Peugeot SA and three other automobile companies.