Israeli company Mobileye Global Inc. (Nasdaq: MBLY) announced that it has discontinued internal development of its next-generation frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) lidars for use in autonomous and highly automated driving systems. The company said the move comes as part of a regular review of its long-term technology strategy.
Mobileye added that the lidar R&D unit will be phased out by the end of 2024, affecting about 100 employees. The fate of those employees remains unclear at this stage, although Mobileye says it will try to reassign them. However, it is estimated that many of the affected workers will lose their jobs. Operating expenses for the Lidar R&D unit are expected to be $60 million in 2024, including $5 million related to stock-based compensation expense.
Mobileye believes that lidar technology has become less important to the company’s future than “missing” systems. This is due to, among other things, significant progress in the EyeQ6 computer vision system and improvements in the performance of the imaging radar developed by the company, as well as the continued decrease in the cost of time-of-flight lidar devices. foreign suppliers. Operating expenses for this unit are estimated to be approximately $60 million for 2024, including approximately $5 million for share-based payment expenses.
Mobileye emphasizes that the closure of the lidar R&D division will not affect existing projects with customers or the development of other products. The company will continue to focus on the development of its strategic core technology, the imaging radar, which is expected to begin production next year as planned.
This latest decision comes after major financial problems faced by Mobileye. The company’s stock price fell 8.5% to a new low of $11.55 on Friday, valuing it at $9.4 billion, compared with $17 billion ($21 a share) at the time of its December 2022 IPO.
Mobileye’s share price has tumbled 73% since the start of the year on downbeat forecasts, challenges in the Chinese market and Norway’s central bank Norges Bank selling more than half of its 10.7% stake in the company. Mobileye is now worth less than the $15 billion it was bought by Intel a decade ago. Intel currently owns 88% of Mobileye and is considering selling some of its shares due to liquidity issues.
Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – published on September 9, 2024.
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