Mobileye NV’s Opportunities and ObstaclesIn 5 Slides

The opportunities

Mobileye is an Israel-based company that makes camera technology, software, and microchips for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). This technology allows vehicles to avoid collisions with other vehicles and pedestrians, and is paving the way for self-driving vehicles.

That’s great news for Mobileye, because the company recently increased its autonomous vehicle efforts with its new Road Experience Management (REM) system. REM uses cloud-based map data, crowd-sourced from other vehicles, to enable cars to drive on their own. Image Source: Mobileye.

The opportunities

The market size for autonomous vehicles is expected to hit $42 billion by 2025, according to Boston Consulting Group. And the growth of self-driving cars is about to take off. IHS Automotive predicts that 12 million fully autonomous vehicles will be sold in 2035.

To get there, tech companies and automakers will have to first focus on ADAS features — and Mobileye could benefit from this growth as well. Carmakers are estimated to spend $22 billion on ADAS suppliers by 2020, a nearly three-fold increase from just a few years ago.

Image Source: Mobileye.

The obstacles

But Mobileye won’t have an unobstructed road ahead. The company has a relatively small position in the autonomous car segment right now, compared to Alphabet’s Google. And Mobileye’s autonomous driving approach differs from Google’s.

Google’s technology focuses on very detailed maps of specific locations, while Mobileye’s technology uses less detailed maps that allow cars to drive virtually anywhere. Both technologies have value in the autonomous driving space, but it’s still unclear which approach will dominate. Image source: Mobileye.

The obstacles

But even if Google isn’t the one to knock Mobileye’s mapping ambitions off track, there are smaller tech companies tackling autonomous driving as well.

NVIDIA is already establishing itself in the autonomous vehicle space with its Drive PX platform. The company is already on its second version of the software, and boasts Audi, Ford, BMW, and Volvo as customers. NVIDIA’s tech uses in-car data processing, instead of the cloud-based map data that Mobileye’s system uses.

The verdict

Mobileye isn’t doomed for failure by any means, but its future success in ADAS and autonomous systems is dependent on the company’s software being better than its competitors’ offerings.

Mobileye’s technology will be in 270 vehicle models this year, which is quite an accomplishment. Now we’ll have to see if Mobileye can turn those vehicles into assets for its mapping software. Image source: Mobileye.

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