Intel Courts Auto Industry as Battle Brews to Provide Autonomous Car Computing Power
November 15 2016 - 12:31PM
Dow Jones News
By Tim Higgins
Intel Chief Executive Officer Brian Krzanich on Tuesday arrived
at his first car show as a speaker to deliver the message that his
company's computing muscle and big-data prowess are just what auto
makers need as they prepare for a world of vehicles that can drive
themselves.
During his speech at Los Angeles' annual car show, he plans to
announce a $250 million commitment by Intel Capital to invest in
autonomous car technology during the next two years.
Mr. Krzanich, who oversees the Silicon Valley semiconductor
giant, faces increased competition as chip companies position
themselves to provide the computing power for what quickly are
becoming data centers on wheels. Rival Qualcomm Inc., the dominant
vendor of smartphone chips, agreed to acquire the Dutch automotive
chip leader NXP Semiconductors NV for $39 billion, while Nvidia
Corp. provides chips for the latest generation of electric cars
from Tesla Motors Inc.
"We see the world of cars shifting from something that uses
computers to enhance the drive to something that uses compute to
really power the drive," Mr. Krzanich said in an interview before
his speech. "More and more, it's going to be that compute
capability that's going to drive a lot of the differentiation of
the car of the future."
Intel's automotive business, which is involved in 30 vehicle
programs on the road currently, is slated to increase that number
to 49 by 2020 with orders worth $1 billion, the company said. Intel
doesn't break out its automotive business in its financial results.
Several auto makers including Ford Motor Co. and BMW AG are
targeting 2021 to build self-driving vehicles.
Write to Tim Higgins at Tim.Higgins@WSJ.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 15, 2016 13:16 ET (18:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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