Mobileye, the company that spent decades quietly powering the brains behind other people’s cars, just announced it wants to run its own. The Intel-spinoff plans to launch a vertically integrated robotaxi service in a major US city by 2027, a move that transforms it from the behind-the-scenes chip supplier into a direct competitor with Waymo.
MBLY shares climbed roughly 4-5% in premarket trading following the June 16 announcement. Investors apparently liked what they heard: an initial fleet of approximately 100 fully driverless vehicles, with ambitions to scale that number to around 17,000 over the following five years.
From supplier to operator
Here’s the thing about Mobileye’s business until now. The company made its name selling autonomous driving technology to automakers. Its EyeQ chips and SuperVision platform sit inside vehicles built by other companies.
The new robotaxi service will be vertically integrated, meaning Mobileye plans to handle fleet operations, rider services, and mobility management all under one roof.
