Mobileye, the leading Israeli autonomous driving technology company that was acquired by Intel several years ago, announced Monday a major shift in its research and development strategy. The Nasdaq-listed firm (MBLY) is ceasing internal development of next-generation frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) lidars for autonomous and highly automated driving systems.

According to Mobileye, this decision comes after a comprehensive review of their long-term technology roadmap. The company now believes that next-generation FMCW lidar is less critical to their plans for "eyes-off" driving systems. This strategic pivot is based on several factors, including significant advancements in their EyeQ6-based computer vision perception, promising results from their in-house imaging radar development, and unexpected cost reductions in third-party time-of-flight lidar units.

The company emphasized that this move will not impact any current customer product programs or ongoing product development efforts. Mobileye remains committed to its in-house imaging radar development, which meets performance specifications based on B-samples and is on track to enter production next year.

"Imaging radar is a strategic priority for Mobileye," a company spokesperson told Mobileye. "This is a core building-block technology that we expect to drive competitive advantage for Mobileye-based eyes-off systems in cost/performance optimization and scalability."

The decision to wind down the lidar R&D unit by the end of 2024 will affect approximately 100 employees. Mobileye estimates that operating expenses for the lidar R&D unit will total around $60 million in 2024, including about $5 million related to share-based compensation expenses.

While the company does not anticipate this action to materially impact its 2024 financial results, it will lead to significant cost savings in future lidar development spending. Mobileye, founded in 1999, has been at the forefront of mobility evolution with its autonomous driving and driver-assistance technologies. The company's expertise spans artificial intelligence, computer vision, mapping, and integrated hardware and software solutions. By the end of 2023, Mobileye technology had been incorporated into approximately 180 million vehicles worldwide.

In 2022, Mobileye became an independent company, separating from Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), which retains majority ownership. The company continues to pioneer groundbreaking technologies such as REM crowdsourced mapping, True Redundancy sensing, and Responsibility-Sensitive Safety (RSS) driving policy.

Mobileye's stock has recently struggled due to several factors. An industry-wide slowdown in autonomous driving has reduced demand for their products as automakers cut production. Intel has had its own woes, as the famous chipmaker has tried to catch up with other hyperscalers in the artificial intelligence boom.

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Shares of Mobileye Global Inc fell by more than 30% on Thursday after the maker of autonomous driving technology lowered its forecast for annual revenue owing to a slowdown in demand for electric vehicles from China.

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Mobileye, which counts auto parts suppliers Aptiv Plc and Magna International among its customers, reduced its forecast for the annual shipment of its driver-assist system SuperVision. The move was in response to the decision by the Chinese government last year to end its subsidies for EV purchases in the country, which has weighed on demand.

Mobileye's shares were trading at $33.17 per share, down about 23%. The company went public in October after Intel Corp spun it off in an initial public offering priced at $21 per share.

Mobileye faces intensifying competition in the assisted driving market from chipmakers Nvidia Corp and Qualcomm Inc which are trying to make inroads into the space. Intel, which reports its first-quarter results after markets close on Thursday, still owns more than 90% of Mobileye.

Jerusalem, Israel-based Mobileye projected annual revenue to come in between $2.07 billion and $2.11 billion, down from an earlier forecast of $2.19 billion and $2.28 billion.

For the first quarter, Mobileye posted revenue of $458 million, slightly above analysts' average estimate of $454.7 million, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Excluding certain items, the company earned 14 cents during the quarter, compared with estimates of 12 cents per share.

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Chip-maker giant Intel is set to take Mobileye, its Israeli self-driving car unit, public in the United States next year, Reuters reported on Monday.

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The deal would reportedly value Mobileye at more than $50 billion.

Intel is the largest employer in Israel's high-tech sector, with 14,000 employees, and it will likely retain Mobileye's executive team and keep its majority ownership after the initial public offering of Mobileye stock, according to the report.

In 2017, Intel purchased Israeli self-driving car-maker Mobileye for $15.3 billion. The move reportedly put it in direct competition with its rivals, Nvidia and Qualcomm, in developing driverless systems for automakers.

"Intel has no intention to divest or spin off its majority ownership in Mobileye," the company said in a statement, adding that it will continue to provide technical resources to the automaker.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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The deal announced Monday gives Intel another tool to use in its push to become a major player in the race to create the technology needed to build fleets of taxis that will be able to transport passengers without a human driver behind the wheel.

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Moovit, an 8-year-old company based in Israel, makes an app that compiles data from public transit systems, ride-hailing services and other resources to help its 800 million users plan the best ways to get around. Intel plans to combine Moovit with another Israeli company, Mobileye, which Intel bought for about $15 billion in 2017.

Since that deal, Mobileye's revenue has ballooned from $210 million in 2017 to $879 million last year. That's a reflection of the big bets being placed on automated driving by both major technology companies, such as Google spinoff Waymo and Apple, and automakers such as General Motors and Toyota.

"Intel's purpose is to create world-changing technology that enriches the lives of every person on earth," said the company's CEO Bob Swan.

Despite its rapid growth, Mobileye, which makes technology for autonomous driving, still only accounts for a sliver of Intel's annual revenue of $72 billion.

Intel, which is based in Santa Clara, California, is upping its ante on self-driving cars at a time when many other companies are bracing for an extended economic downturn that already has thrust more than 30 million people into the unemployment lines.

But the stay-at-home orders imposed as part of the global pandemic have only made people more aware of how dependent they are on technology, including the Intel Corp. chips inside personal computers and a wide range of other devices.

While the recession will take a bite out of the technology industry too, the long-term picture for the biggest companies still looks bright. Deep-pocketed companies such as Intel, which is sitting on $11.4 billion cash, are expected to forge ahead with their investments in fields they believe will turn into gold mines.

Intel already acquired a stake in Moovit in 2018 when it was among a group of investors who injected $50 million into the startup. Since its inception, Moovit had raised 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. Shashua 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.

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Below is our countdown for the top five Israeli innovations of the decade:

5. Electric-powered airplane

Eviation, an Israeli startup introduced its first electric airplane, capable of flying short distances of up to 650 miles (1,050 kilometers) at around 270 mph (440 kmp). The craft, named Alice, is not only cheaper to produce, it also produces zero emissions, as it relies mainly on electricity and uses very little fuel. As the world grows greener and numerous attempts are made to reduce the human carbon footprint on the planet, this innovation is a creative endeavor by far.

Alice can transport up to nine passengers, including two pilots. It is equipped with revolving seats and even portable chargers for mobile phones. Unveiled at the Paris Air Show this past June, Alice is capable of embarking on shorter flights, such as from Israel to Cyprus or from Paris to Toulouse. Eviation expects its main customers to be American aviation companies, which can service short-haul lines within the continental US like the New York-Boston route.

4. Clean drinking water

In order to provide clean water for underdeveloped communities, Israeli startup WaterGen unveiled its GEN-M, a medium-scale atmospheric generator (AWG) that makes water out of air. The device can produce over 200 gallons (800 gallons) of clean drinking water per day. GEN-M creates water by cooling air at its natural dew point, and then filtering it, and purifying it with carbon. By using ultraviolet rays, any remaining bacteria is subsequently eliminated, making it suitable for consumption.

While the product was first presented in 2010, it has been put into service in far-reaching countries like Puerto Rico during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, in a small village near Cúcuta, Colombia, and in various other disaster zones.

3. Mobileye, an AI device that helps drivers navigate roads safely

The company launched this invention in 2011, with the aim of assisting drivers to navigate roads and highways with more caution. The Mobileye device contains a small digital camera equipped with algorithms that are capable of predicting traffic accidents, thereby aiding drivers to travel more safely. The system can alert a driver when he or she attempts to switch lanes, by warning of a collision or sensing the presence of pedestrians in the street. The life-saving artificial intelligence device has already been installed by several known carmakers, including Volvo, BMW, GM, and others. After its worldwide success, Mobileye was later bought by Intel in 2017.

2. The first artificial pancreas – A potential cure for diabetes?

In a possible future cure for diabetes, researchers at Betalin Therapeutics have engineered the first artificial pancreas. It can be inserted underneath the skin, without anesthesia and "reprograms" the natural pancreas to function correctly, by teaching it how to properly administer insulin. The pancreas, which is located in the abdomen, is a vital organ crucial to the digestive process. In diabetic patients, it doesn't produce enough insulin, causing the amount of sugars to increase in the bloodstream, and leading to symptoms such as nausea and shortness of breath.

Betalin's ground-breaking bio-artificial pancreas was engineered using pig lung tissue and cells secreted by insulin. It can identify a patient's blood sugar level and accurately dispense the required amount of insulin as needed, rendering all future injections, drugs or blood glucose measures obsolete.

"We are mimicking what actually happens in the body," Dr. Nikolai Kunicher, CEO of Betalin Therapeutics previously told Israel Hayom.

1. The first Israeli spacecraft to the Moon, Beresheet

In February of this year, Israel Aerospace Industries and SpaceIL did the impossible – after years of a combination of hard work, Israeli ingenuity, and budgeted-funding – the first Israeli spacecraft, Beresheet blasted off to the Moon. Beresheet – in the beginning – as it was aptly named, was sent into space, and orbited the Earth for two months relying mainly on solar powered energy in order to save fuel costs, before it crash-landed on the lunar surface in April.

Although communication was ultimately lost with the craft, it made history as both the cheapest and lightest probe ever built. Beresheet generated a combined cost of $100,000, and was funded by SpaceIL President Morris Kahn, Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, Canadian businessman Sylvan Adams, the Science and Technology Ministry, the Israel Space Agency, Israel Aerospace Industries, and numerous other private donors.

Although the Jewish state has only been in existence for 71 years, it is on a direct trajectory to technological innovation-success, from new developments in medicine to future space exploration projects.

So, who knows what the next decade may hold?

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Mobileye, bought by Intel in 2017 for $15 billion, has been making inroads in China, the world's biggest auto market where self-driving projects are being rolled out at pace.

Israeli rivals have also been winning projects in China and could get a boost from the trade war that has effectively cut off Chinese investment in U.S. tech-hub Silicon Valley.

Mobileye has signed a memorandum of understanding with Great Wall Motors to integrate advanced driver assistance systems in a range of vehicles over the next three to five years and to develop more advanced autonomous systems for China. A second partnership with Beijing Public Transport Corp and Beijing Beytai aims to bring autonomy to public transport.

Mobileye did not disclose financial details of the deals.

"There is a strong pull for Israeli technology in China," Erez Dagan, the company's vice president of product and strategy, told Reuters.

Mobileye signed 16 deals in China in 2018, when half of the company's design wins were Chinese, he said.

Israel and China do more than $10 billion a year in trade.

Chinese investment in Israeli technology has been on the rise for years. Israeli tech startups raised $325 million from Chinese investors in the first three quarters of 2018, up 37% from a year earlier, according to the Israel Venture Capital Research Center. The third quarter was the strongest for Chinese investment in the past five years.

Intel's deal with Mobileye put a spotlight on Israel's autonomous driving sector, comprised of more than 500 startups and largely based on technology that has helped the Israel Defense Forces drive tanks, guide and intercept missiles and keep its computer systems secure.

Window of opportunity

Some in the industry say new U.S. regulation aimed at curbing China's access to American innovation could send more customers and investors their way.

"This is an opportunity for Israeli companies and this is why we are considering going more to China. China will look more to Israel," said Ronny Cohen, CEO of VayaVision, whose perception technology creates a 3D model of a self-driving car's surroundings.

Driver monitoring technology firm EyeSight Technologies has raised $50 million, including $16 million from China's Kuang-Chi. CEO Gideon Shmuel also sees opportunity in the wake of the U.S.-China trade war.

"China is our fastest growing market in terms of geographies," he said.

At the same time, too strong of an embrace of China could risk a backlash from the United States, which remains Israel's key ally.

"The trick is going to be how Israeli companies dance at both weddings. You really have to be careful not to jeopardize our core relationship with the U.S.," said Jon Medved, CEO of crowdfunding firm OurCrowd, which has invested in 30 auto-tech firms.

U.S. rules on foreign investors chill Silicon Valley

Unlike in the regulated defense and cybersecurity sectors, there are no restrictions in Israel on auto technology exports.

"China doesn't have enough advanced technologies, so Israel can play an important role in Chinese smart transportation," said Cui Yuting, counselor of science and technology at China's embassy in Tel Aviv.

Israeli companies still need a better understanding of the Chinese market and which technologies are suitable and they should look for Chinese partners, he added.

Innoviz Technologies, an Israeli maker of laser-based sensors called lidar for self-driving cars, has raised $83 million from investors like automotive suppliers Magna and Aptiv, but also Chinese venture capital firm Glory Ventures.

"[China] possibly could become our biggest market," said CEO Omer Keilaf, adding that he sees Israel as well-positioned to compensate there for any loss of American technology.

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