Mobileye built its reputation and business by supplying automakers with millions of computer vision chips that power automotive safety features and advanced driver assistance systems. The Intel subsidiary, which is also publicly traded, later expanded its focus to include full autonomous driving through its combined chip and software offerings.
Now, co-founder and President Amnon Shashua is steering the company into what he terms Mobileye 3.0, a new phase centered on robotics and supported by a major acquisition. The Israeli company announced at CES in Las Vegas that it has reached a deal to acquire Mentee Robotics for $900 million. Mentee is a startup co-founded by Shashua in 2022 that is developing humanoid robots. Under the agreement, Mobileye will pay approximately $612 million in cash and up to 26.2 million shares of common stock. Shashua, who is chairman, co-founder, and a significant shareholder of Mentee, recused himself from the Mobileye board’s deliberations and approval of the transaction.
The deal, approved by the Mobileye board and its largest shareholder Intel, is expected to close in the first quarter. It is projected to modestly increase Mobileye’s operating expenses in 2026 by a low-single-digit percentage.
Shashua stated that this move begins a new chapter for robotics and automotive AI. He believes combining Mentee’s progress in humanoid robotics with Mobileye’s expertise in automotive autonomy and productizing advanced AI creates a unique opportunity to lead in physical AI across both robotics and autonomous vehicles globally.
Mentee Robotics will continue to operate as an independent unit within Mobileye. While the specific benefits for Mobileye may not be immediately obvious in a crowded field of companies entering the humanoid robot space, the company officially stated the acquisition broadens its business scope with a decisive step toward Physical Artificial Intelligence. This refers to systems designed to understand context and intent and interact naturally with humans and the physical world.
In essence, Mobileye and Shashua aim to extend the technology that allows vehicles to navigate the world and apply it to humanoid robots. The company notes it has the financial resources for this pursuit, citing a current automotive revenue pipeline of $24.5 billion over the next eight years, driven by its advanced autonomy and driver assistance tech. This pipeline figure has grown more than 40% since January 2023.
Developing production-ready humanoid robots will be a costly endeavor. Mentee stands to gain significantly by accessing Mobileye’s resources, including its advanced AI training infrastructure and compute power.
This acquisition news follows another customer announcement from Mobileye. The company stated that a top 10 automaker has struck a deal to buy 9 million of its next-generation EyeQ6H-based Surround ADAS systems for hands-off advanced driver assistance. This follows a March announcement that Volkswagen Group would also use the chip. Mobileye now estimates future deliveries of more than 19 million of these EyeQ6H-based Surround systems.