Intel buying Israeli car tech firm Mobileye for $15-B

JERUSALEM – US computer chip giant Intel has agreed to buy Israeli car technology firm Mobileye in a deal worth more than $15 billion (14 billion euros), the companies said in a statement on Monday.

Israeli media reported that the deal was the largest ever cross-border acquisition for an Israeli tech firm. Intel and Mobileye have been collaborating with German automaker BMW to develop self-driving cars.

The statement said the deal was worth approximately $15.3 billion.

“The combination is expected to accelerate innovation for the automotive industry and position Intel as a leading technology provider in the fast-growing market for highly and fully autonomous vehicles,” it said.

“Intel estimates the vehicle systems, data and services market opportunity to be up to $70 billion by 2030.”

Last year, BMW announced that it was joining forces with Mobileye and Intel on a self-drive project for “highly and fully automated driving” to be commercially available by 2021.

BMW announced in January it would deploy 40 self-driving vehicles for tests in the United States and Europe.

In August, Mobileye and UK-based auto-equipment maker Delphi said they were teaming up to develop an autonomous driving system which would be ready for vehicle-makers in 2019.

Mobileye, which also develops systems for accident avoidance, has concluded an agreement with Volkswagen on road data technology as well.

The Israeli firm was founded in 1999. – Rappler.com