It was less than four months ago that Intel announced it intended to ramp up its ambitions in the realm of self-driving vehicles by targeting $250 million for investments into the nascent technology. At the time, it seemed like a bold move. On Monday, the chipmaker made a much bigger one.
Intel announced it has acquired Mobileye, a major supplier of computer vision and machine-learning systems for the automotive industry, for $15.3 billion. The deal reshapes the race to rake in billions from the advent of self-driving vehicles.
The two companies have worked together in separate partnerships with BMW and Delphi Automotive over the past year, and in doing so realized a closer relationship would bring complementary technologies together under one banner and provide a chance at major inroads into a fledgling marketplace.
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?This acquisition jumps them up the scale and creates a powerhouse of data analytics and cloud services.?

? Tim Dawkins, analyst

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With Intel?s processing capabilities and Mobileye?s ability to extract camera-based telemetry data needed for making high-definition maps from existing collision-avoidance technologies, their combined forces provide potential customers with more pieces of a self-driving system in a single package.
That likely will be an attractive proposition in an overall market that Intel estimates will be worth as much as $70 billion by 2030. And with Mobileye currently maintaining contracts with 27 global OEMs, there?s an opportunity to ...