Tag Archives: Intel

Not Quite a Unicorn: Intel Buys Moovit for $0.9 Billion

Companies, , , ,

Looking towards the future when people order cabs sans drivers, giant chip-maker Intel purchased wildly popular transportation-planning app Moovit for almost, but not quite $1 billion. Just a measly $100 million short of a unicorn’s price-tag.

Kidding aside, $900 million is a nice haul for the Israeli-based app that has revolutionized public transportation and

Moovit is seen as an essential piece in the multi-faceted puzzle of driverless transportation of the future: one more element Intel will need to become an essential part of an autonomous driving revolution futurists see as not only inevitable but imminently upon us.

Developed about 8 years ago in Israel, Moovit takes data from public transportation systems, ride-hailing services, and other transport services, and aggregates it all for their more than 800 million users so they can plan the fastest, most convenient, and least expensive ways of getting where they want to go.

You may remember that Intel purchased another major player needed for autonomous transportation. In 2017 the chipmaker bought Israeli company Mobileye for $15 billion, a self-driving car feature that “sees” around the car’s environment. Revenue for Mobileye has exploded from $210 million in 2017 to $879 million in 2019.

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

Intel Acquires ST-Ericcson’s Global Navigation Satellite System

Companies, Tech News, , , , ,

Intel confirmed that it was the unnamed buyer of ST-Ericsson’s global navigation satellite system business.

ST-Ericcson announced last week that a “leading semiconductor company” had acquired their mobile connectivity GNSS unit. The sale includes personal receivers which interact with GPS technology and GLONASS. GLONASS is a satellite navigation system which is operated by the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces and is radio-based.

Nick Jacobs, spokesman for Intel Asia, said that the approximately 130 employees from ST-Ericcson, including the GNSS engineering team and their leadership, will be integrated into Intel’s Communications Group.

“The deal extends Intel’s investments in positioning technology with a team of industry veterans that has a successful track record of developing and commercializing GPS silicon spanning more than 20 years and 11 generations of GPS and GNSS silicon,” Jacobs said.

ST-Ericcson is a joint venture between Ericcson and STMicroelectronics.