Intel reportedly to list shares in Israeli self-driving car unit Mobileye

Could value the unit at more than $71 billion.

Intel is planning to publicly list shares in its self-driving-car unit Mobileye, which could value the unit at more than US$50 billion (A$71 billion), the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

However, there are no guarantees Intel will ultimately follow through with an offering, the report said, adding that the announcement is expected as soon as this week.

Intel declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters.

Intel, the largest employer of Israel’s high tech industry with nearly 14,000 workers, bought Israeli autonomous vehicle technology firm Mobileye for US$15.3 billion in 2017.

The deal put the US chipmaker into direct competition with rivals Nvidia and Qualcomm to develop driverless systems for global automakers.

Mobileye, founded in 1999, has taken a different strategy from many of its self-driving car competitors, with a current camera-based system that helps cars with adaptive cruise control and lane change assistance.