Intel buys Moovit app to boost guess on self-driving cars in times of social distancing
Intel is buying transportation-planning service Moovit for $900 million as the world’s major computer chip maker moves further down the road in its effort to build self-driving cars.
The deal announced Monday gives Intel another tool to use in its push to become major player in the race to create the technology needed to build fleets of taxis that will be able to transport passengers with out a human driver behind the wheel.
Moovit, an 8-year-old company based in Israel, makes an iphone app that compiles data from public transit systems, ride-hailing services and other resources to greatly help its 800 million users plan the best methods for getting around. Intel plans to incorporate Moovit with Mobileye, a self-driving car expert that Intel bought for about $15 billion in 2017.
Since that deal, Mobileye’s income has ballooned from $210 million in 2017 to $879 million this past year. That’s a reflection of the big bets being put on automated driving by both major technology companies, such as Google spinoff Waymo and Apple, and automakers such as for example General Motors and Toyota.
Despite its rapid growth, Mobileye still only makes up about a sliver of Intel’s total annual revenue of $72 billion.
Intel, which is situated in Santa Clara, California, is upping its ante on self-driving cars at the same time when a great many other companies are bracing for a protracted monetary downturn that already has thrust a lot more than 30 million people into the unemployment lines.
However the stay-at-home orders imposed within the global pandemic have only made persons more alert to how dependent they are on technology, like the Intel Corp. chips inside computers and a broad range of other devices.
While the recession will take a bite from the technology industry too, the long-term picture for the largest companies still looks bright. Deep-pocketed companies such as Intel, which is sitting on $11.4 billion cash, are anticipated to forge ahead with their investments in fields they believe will become gold mines.
Intel already acquired a stake in Moovit in 2018 when it had been among several investors who injected $50 million in to the startup. Since its inception, Moovit had raised a lot more than $130 million from venture capitalists and other investors.
After Intel invested in Moovit, Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua joined the startup’s board of directors as an observer. Shashau will now oversee Moovit’s roughly 200 employees including its co-founder and CEO Nir Erez, who will become an executive vice president within the Mobileye group.
Intel’s stock gained 52 cents Monday to close at $57.99. The shares have fallen by about 16% from their 52-week high reached in January.
