"In 2008, it was the first to achieve Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR); in 2009, it was the first to achieve Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) for pedestrians; in 2010, it was the first to achieve Forward Collision Warning (FCW); in 2013, it was the first to achieve Automatic Cruise (ACC)......"
Mobileye, the pioneer of automatic driving, once occupied 70% of the ADAS market, with few competitors in the early years. Such good results come from a set of deeply coupled business solutions of "algorithm+chip", commonly known as "black box mode" in the industry.
The "black box mode" will package and deliver the complete chip architecture, operating system, intelligent driving software and hardware. With the advantages of efficiency and cost, in the L1~L2 intelligent vehicle stage, it will help the vehicle enterprises achieve the functions of L0 collision warning, L1 AEB emergency braking, L2 integrated cruise, etc., and win a lot of partners.
However, in recent years, auto companies have "de Mobileye" one after another, Tesla has turned to self research, BMW has joined hands with Qualcomm, "Weixiaoli" and other new car making enterprises have invested in Nvidia, and Mobileye has gradually fallen behind. The reason is still the "black box mode" scheme.
Higher level automatic driving requires greater computing power. Vehicle enterprises have begun to attach importance to the underlying algorithm framework of automatic driving. They need to use vehicle data to enhance algorithm capabilities and define differentiated algorithms. The closeness of the "black box model" makes it impossible for car companies to share algorithms and data, so they have to give up cooperation with Mobileye and move towards new competitors in Nvidia, Qualcomm, Horizon and other markets.
Only by opening up can we achieve long-term cooperation. Mobileye is clearly aware of this.
On July 5, 2022, Mobileye officially released the first software development kit (SDK) for EyeQ system integration chip, EyeQ Kit. EyeQ Kit will make full use of the high-efficient architecture of EyeQ6 High and EyeQ Ultra processors to enable automotive enterprises to deploy differentiated code and human computer interface tools on the EyeQ platform.
Amnon Shashua, President and CEO of Mobileye, said: "Our customers need flexibility and self building ability. They need to differentiate and define their brands through software."
Can Mobileye, the "Big Brother", reshape the competitive landscape from a closed to open road of self-help?
From the perspective of the high-level automatic driving market, Nvidia and Qualcomm have come up with "2000TOPS" cross domain super computing solutions for the next generation of vehicle electronic architecture. 2025 is the release node. In contrast, the Mobileye EyeQ Ultra chip, which is also planned to be released in 2025, has a computing power of 176TOPS, still staying at the level of low level automatic driving computing power.
However, the L2~L2+low-level autonomous driving market, which is the main force of Mobileye, is also "hijacked" by Horizon. Horizon has attracted many OEMs with its open cooperation mode. Its journey has five chips (the main chip of Mobileye, EyeQ5, the same period product), and its computing power has reached 128TOPS. Its products can also be customized in depth according to customer needs.
Obviously, Mobileye only passed the new round of automatic driving product competition. However, the "first mover advantage" can temporarily stabilize its market position. In 2021, the shipment of Mobileye's EyeQ chips will reach 100 million; In the second quarter of 2022, Mobileye achieved record revenue.
Behind Mobileye, which is in trouble, is a rescuer - its parent company, Intel. At a time when products are hard to drive, we should aim at the MaaS market and reshape the driving force with diversification strategy. Perhaps it is Intel and Mobileye that have made the layout for the next round of competition.
On May 4, 2020, Intel acquired Moovit, an Israeli travel service company, to pave the way for Mobileye's industrial layout of "from assisted driving technology to autonomous vehicles". In 2021, Volkswagen and Mobileye announced that they would jointly launch a driverless taxi service called "New Mobility in Israel" in Israel. Mobileye will provide L4 level automatic driving software and hardware, and Volkswagen will provide pure electric vehicles. In 2022, Mobileye and Krypton jointly announced that they will work together to build a new consumer pure electric vehicle with L4 level automatic driving capability.
"The development of Robotaxi will promote the future of automatic driving, followed by the growth of consumer grade AV. Mobileye is in a unique position in both fields and can become a leader." Amnon Shashua, founder of Mobileye, said in the 2021 annual report.
At the same time, Intel plans to promote the independent listing of Mobileye on NASDAQ with the stock code of "MBLY". After the listing, Mobileye's senior management team will remain in office, and Shashua will continue to serve as the CEO of the company. Moovit, Intel's technology team engaged in the development of laser radar and 4D radar, and other Mobileye projects will become part of its listing body.
By splitting Mobileye, Intel can better integrate Mobileye's development resources internally, and improve Mobileye's operational flexibility. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger once said: "As global automobile manufacturers spend billions of dollars to accelerate the transformation to electric vehicles and autonomous vehicle, this IPO will make Mobileye easier to grow."
Last month, Mobileye announced that it had submitted the application documents for IPO listing in the United States. Due to the poor overall situation of the US stock market, the document submitted by Mobileye to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday showed that the company planned to sell 41 million shares at a price of 18 to 20 US dollars per share, raising $820 million, and the target valuation of the issue was about $16 billion. This estimate was previously valued at $50 billion.
Reprinted From: Sohu Auto · Auto Cafe
Post time: Oct-31-2022