Computer chip maker Intel paid
handsomely for a piece of the next big thing Monday as it offered more than $15 billion for Mobileye, an Israeli
company at the forefront of autonomous vehicle technology.
The purchase, scheduled to close by year's end, creates another major player in self-driving technology
as traditional automakers and tech companies vie to put the cars into
public use. Most companies have predicted
autonomous vehicles will be carrying people in the next three-to-five years.
The big investment by Intel validates predictions
that autonomous cars will someday come in large numbers, signifying a sea
change in the way we all get around, said Timothy Carone, a Notre Dame University professor
who has written about the future of
automation. "Major players are finding ways
finding ways to position themselves for a change as seminal as the personal
computer revolution," he said.
Jerusalem-based Mobileye, which
makes software that processes information from cameras and other car sensors to
decide
where the cars should steer, has products on just about every
automaker's autonomous test fleet. The combination with Intel adds hardware,
more software expertise and data centers that the companies say will hasten deployment of autonomous
technology, including wider use of automatic
emergency braking and other technologies that already are on the roads.
Automakers and some technology companies are testing
autonomous vehicles in California, Michigan and a few other states. Mobileye
has partnerships with many of them, including testing cars with Intel and BMW.
The Mobileye deal will help put Intel in the
driver's seat in terms of supplying vital parts of autonomous vehicles, said IHS Markit analyst Akhilesh Kona. Besides
Mobileye's technology, Intel is gaining access to major automakers and parts
suppliers, Kona said. "They have
captured a piece of what should be a fast-growing market."
Intel and Mobileye are targeting an array of sensors
and camera systems that are expected to generate
annual sales of $10 billion by 2022, quintupling from about $2 billion this
year, IHS estimated. Mobileye controls about 70 percent of the world market for
driver assistance systems such as automatic braking, lane centering and
pedestrian detection. IHS expects as many as 21
million autonomous vehicles to be sold by the year 2035.
But there are still a number of obstacles to
overcome. Companies still haven't aren't certain how the cars will drive in
snow or other bad weather, and it will be difficult for cars to be
programmed to handle numerous local traffic customs. Also, no one really knows
yet when the cars will be safe enough to remove human backup drivers.
The rise of mobile devices caused
a decline in the personal computer market and undercut Intel's growth and
influence in the technology business. Now Intel is expanding into other
potentially fertile fields.
Besides setting its sights on the still-nascent
driverless car market, Intel also has been investing in wearable computers,
such as smartwatches, as well as drones.
The companies said Monday's deal
combines Mobileye's software with Intel's hardware,
data centers and its own software, giving automakers a one-stop place to shop
for autonomous systems.
"This acquisition essentially merges the
intelligent eyes of the autonomous car with the intelligent brain that actually
drives the car," Intel CEO Brian Krzanich wrote
in a note to employees.
The deal moves Intel-Mobileye to at least parity with
Google's Waymo, Uber Technologies and car companies for autonomous car
leadership, Carone said. It's likely to
pressure competitors into signing more deals, he added.
The acquisition should have little short-term impact on competitors
such as Autoliv and Continental, and Intel and Mobileye already are working
with supplier Delphi and BMW to test cars, Jefferies analyst
Ashik Kurian wrote in a note to investors.
But in the long-term as the market moves toward more
autonomous vehicles, the hookup "confirms our concern about the emergence
of new large and well-capitalized competitors" threatening auto suppliers,
Kurian wrote.
Intel Corp. will pay $63.54 for each share of
Mobileye N.V., a 34 percent premium to its Friday closing price. That's below
Mobileye's record high closing price of $64.14 in August 2015 after Morgan
Stanley raised its target price on the shares to
$80. Mobileye NV's stock closed Monday up 28 percent to $60.62. Intel shares
fell 2 percent to $35.16.
The boards of both companies still have to approve
the transaction. The companies put the
equity value of the deal at $15.3 billion.
The combined global autonomous driving company, which includes
Mobileye and Intel's autonomous driving group, will be based in Israel.
Regular:
Offered, Expected, Caused, Use, Raised, Decide
Irreguler:
Paid, Put, Said, Get, Written, Say, Drive, Wrote, Sold
Simple
Present Tense:
Major players are finding ways finding
ways to position themselves for a change as seminal as the personal computer
revolution
Simple Past Tense:
The companies said Monday's deal
combines Mobileye's software with Intel's hardware
Simple
Future Tense:
Companies still haven't aren't certain how the cars will drive in
snow or other bad weather
Infinitive:
Creates another major player in
self-driving technology as traditional automakers and tech companies vie to put
the cars into public use.
Which makes software that processes
information from cameras and other car sensors to decide where the cars should
steer.
IHS expects as many as 21 million
autonomous vehicles to be sold by the year 2035.
Gerund:
The acquisition should have little short-term impact on competitors
such as Autoliv and Continental, and Intel and Mobileye already are working
with supplier Delphi and BMW to test cars.
The combined global autonomous driving company, which includes
Mobileye and Intel's autonomous driving group, will be based in Israel.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2017/03/14/making-autonomous-car-play-intel-offers-15b-for-mobileye-.html
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar