Intel
Intel's recent work with MobilEye on self-driving cars must have gone well, because the chip giant is buying its Jerusalem-based partner for $15 billion, according Israeli business site The Marker. MobilEye is one of the largest players in autonomous vehicle tech, and was in the news recently over a spat with Tesla following a fatal Model S crash in Florida. The firm recently teamed with Intel on BMW's iNext self-driving platform, which the automaker aims to put into service by 2021.
However, the technology they're working on isn't just for BMW vehicles. The idea is to build a "scalable architecture" that can be used by any automaker, especially if they don't want to build their own tech from scratch. As such, it could become a huge business for MobilEye, which may help explain the $15 billion acquisition price.
The deal, expected to be confirmed shortly, would be the largest acquisition of an Israeli-based tech company ever, according to Techcrunch. Despite a recent PC renaissance thanks to Microsoft's Surface and other devices, Intel's desktop business is still losing ground to mobile devices. That has forced Intel into other areas like wearables, connected homes and "internet of things" devices, none of which has exactly taken off yet.
Self-driving tech, on the other hand, is one of the hottest trends in tech, with virtually every automaker and companies like Uber and Lyft working on it. Even if fully autonomous cars don't work out as planned (some critics think it's a distant pipe dream), "autopilot" tech that can aid drivers and prevent accidents is available now on Tesla and other vehicles. Ironically, MobilEye's early success was due in large part to Tesla, and that partnership dissolved in a not-very-friendly way.