Intel's Autonomous Driving Subsidiary Mobileye Files IPO Application... "Estimated Value 60 Trillion Won"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] U.S. semiconductor company Intel has officially entered the IPO process by submitting application documents for the initial public offering (IPO) of its autonomous driving subsidiary, Mobileye.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 7th (local time), Intel submitted the IPO application documents confidentially to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the same day. Intel revealed its plan to list Mobileye last year and has been pushing for Mobileye's IPO aiming for mid-this year. Although the number of shares to be issued by Intel and the price range of the offering have not yet been identified in the market, Intel has previously stated that it is expected to hold more than half of the shares.

Mobileye, acquired by Intel in 2017 for about $15 billion (approximately 18.5 trillion KRW), is an autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Israel. The market expects that if Mobileye goes public this time, its corporate value will exceed $50 billion (approximately 61.5 trillion KRW). Mobileye recorded sales of $1.4 billion last year, an increase of about 40% compared to the previous year.

Intel's push for this IPO comes amid growing demand for autonomous driving technology and automotive semiconductors in the automotive industry. Automakers, which have experienced supply shortages due to the global semiconductor shortage, are partnering with semiconductor companies. Pat Gelsinger, Intel's CEO, has said that the demand for processors, a semiconductor component, from the automotive industry has made semiconductor companies pay more attention to key customers.

In the market, there is speculation that Cruise, the autonomous driving business unit of General Motors (GM), one of the leading groups in autonomous driving technology alongside Mobileye, will follow a similar path. Financial services firm RBC Capital has forecasted that GM could also list Cruise at a certain point in time.

However, some point out that due to increased volatility in the stock market caused by geopolitical issues such as the possibility of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, investor interest in IPOs has declined, which could also affect Mobileye's IPO.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.