Four years ago, Intel
Mobileye is an Israeli-based company that was working on technology to develop autonomous vehicles and advanced driver-assistance systems. Intel believes the spinoff will unlock more shareholder value as Mobileye would likely trade at a substantially higher multiple than Intel. The company was started from the research of Amnon Shashua who remains the company's CEO. His research looked at using cameras and software to create a vehicle detection system to reduce the chances of car accidents. This is already used in many newer cars and has been shown to be effective.
Mobileye had 40% revenue growth in 2021 and is currently working with 30 automakers. In a press release, Intel said, Mobileye has "experienced substantial revenue growth, achieved numerous technical innovations and made significant investments directed to solving the most difficult scientific and technology problems to prepare the deployment of autonomous driving at scale."
Intel will remain the majority owner of Mobileye. One potential, additional factor in Intel's decision to monetize its Mobileye asset is the company is making significant investments in new foundry production. This includes $20 billion in a new plant in Arizona. There are also rumors that Intel may be looking to make an acquisition with most foundry companies in the $20 billion to $40 billion range.
Intel's Mobileye investment has been one of the few bright spots over the last few years. Intel's stock price has nearly quadrupled since its bottom in March 2009. However, it's underperformed and lost market leadership to many of its peers like Advanced Micro Devices
These companies have captured the vast majority of gains and growth of the semiconductor industry over the last decade, while Intel lost its standing as the top company. Intel's new strategy seems to be about becoming a leader in semiconductor production through building new foundries.
