Intel has completed its $15.3 billion acquisition of driverless car tech company Mobileye.
Mobileye was founded in Jerusalem nearly 20 years ago and has specialised in machine learning-powered advanced driverless technology and vision-based driver assistance systems.
The deal, which was first announced back in March, solidifies the chipmaker's ambitions in the field of self-driving cars, which will see company release a fleet of 100 autonomous vehicles onto the roads of the US, Israel where Mobileye will continue to be headquartered and Europe.
In a statement made on the closing of the acquisition, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said: "With Mobileye, Intel emerges as a leader in creating the technology foundation that the automotive industry needs for an autonomous future.
"It's an exciting engineering challenge and a huge growth opportunity for Intel. Even more exciting is the potential for autonomous cars to transform industries, improve society and save millions of lives."
Professor Amnon Shashua, who takes on the role of Mobileye CEO and CTO, as well as becoming an SVP at Intel, said: "Leading in autonomous driving technology requires a combination of innovative proprietary software products and versatile open-system hardware platforms that enable customers and partners to customize solutions.
"For the first time, the auto industry has a single partner with deep expertise and a cultural legacy in both areas. Mobileye is very excited to begin this new chapter."
Mobileye will take the lead in Intel's self-driving car initiative, which was announced one day after the acquisition closed. The 100-strong fleet will be made up of Level 4 SAE vehicles, meaning they are fully autonomous. The first car will hit the road later this year, with the remaining 99 units rolling out gradually over an undefined time period.
Explaining why the tests will take place over three different regions, Shashua said: "Geographic diversity is very important as different regions have very diverse driving styles as well as different road conditions and signage. Our goal is to develop autonomous vehicle technology that can be deployed anywhere, which means we need to test and train the vehicles in varying locations."
Image credit: Intel
