Intel To Buy Israeli Startup Moovit For $1 Billion: Reports
The deal would mark Intel's third billion-dollar-plus acquisition of an Israeli company in the past three years following the $2 billion Habana Labs deal in December and $15.3 billion Mobileye deal in 2017.
Intel is reportedly planning to acquire Israeli smart urban transit startup Moovit for $1 billion in a move that would likely boost the chipmaker's automotive technology ambitions.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company is expected to close on the deal in a matter of days, according to multiple reports that came out over the weekend. It would mark the third billion-dollar-plus acquisition of an Israeli company in the past three years for Intel following the company's $2 billion acquisition of Habana Labs in December and $15.3 billion acquisition of Mobileye in 2017.
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Intel declined to comment.
TechCrunch reported that Moovit, which provides a real-time public transit app, will join Intel's Israeli automotive hub that was established by Mobileye as part of the deal, citing sources.
Like the recent Habana Labs deal, Intel already owns shares in Moovit through its venture arm, Intel Capital. In 2018, Intel Capital led the $50 million Series D investment round that valued Moovit at more than $50 million. Mobileye's CEO and CTO, Amnon Shashua, sits on Moovit's board as an observer.
When the Series D round was announced, Shashua said Moovit would serve as an important complement to Intel's smart mobility work with Mobileye.
"With significant investments in automated driving, mobility management platforms and smart infrastructure, Intel is at the forefront of a fundamental transformation of urban mobility," Shashua said at the time. "We’re working with some of the most innovative transit companies, municipalities and transit authorities to build critical foundational technologies for this transformation."
Moovit employees will receive roughly 10 percent of the $1 billion Intel is paying as part of a retention package, according to Israeli newspaper The Marker.