Intel has agreed to pay $15.3 billion for Mobileye, an Israeli company at the forefront of developing technology for self-driving cars.
The deal announced Monday is the latest in a series of big acquisitions for Intel, which have historically produced very little for the company.
“There’s general acknowledgment within the executive team and the board at Intel that we haven’t done as well as we could do on past acquisitions,” Wendell Brooks, president of Intel Capital, told Bloomberg in 2015. He said Intel is putting more work into planning how to integrate its acquisitions.
And with its core PC market fading, Intel is under increasing pressure to continue diversifying into new technologies. That’s why it was willing to make the $15 billion gamble on Mobileye, which reported just $358 million in revenue last year.
Here’s a look at some other notable Intel acquisitions, and how they fit in — or don’t — with the overall company:
Wind River, 2008: The $884 million deal was the company’s largest in a decade, helping position Intel in the market for “embedded systems” — cars, planes, telecommunications gear and industrial equipment. Intel has continued to operate Wind River as an independent subsidiary, but the acquisition helped position the chipmaker for the emerging Internet of Things — wearable computing, appliances and other new applications.
McAfee, 2010: This $7.7 billion transaction was a high-profile failure for Intel, which had hoped to incorporate McAfee’s online security technology directly into computer chips. Intel paid a 60 percent premium for McAfee but never succeeded in achieving its technological goals. Intel announced last fall it would spin McAfee out but retain a 49 percent stake in the business. That transaction valued the security company at $4.2 billion, 45 percent below the purchase price.
Infineon’s wireless group, 2010: Late to the wireless market, Intel spent $1.4 billion in 2010 to buy the wireless division of Germany’s Infineon Technologies. Intel remains a laggard in wireless, but does have modems in some models of Apple’s latest iPhone. Intel is now focused on the forthcoming 5G wireless standard.
Basis Science, 2014: Reports valued this deal between $100 million and $150 million, buying Intel a pioneer in the smartwatch market. Consumers have been cool on wearable technologies, though, while the Basis Peak smartwatches turned out to be too hot. Intel recalled them last year, warning they could overheat and injure wearers.
Altera, 2015: Intel’s largest deal ever, the $16.7 billion transaction brought programmable chip technology Intel said could help its data center chips. Intel indicated that Altera gained market share in 2016, its first year under Intel ownership.
Lantiq, 2015: The deal bought Intel technology for the “connected home,” which was briefly a top Intel priority. Intel didn’t disclose a purchase price for the German company and hasn’t focused on home technology in recent months.
Intel made a series of relatively small deals last year, the results of which are too early to asses. Here’s a rundown:
Itseez: A computer vision technology, like Mobileye, for self-driving cars and other autonomous technologies.
Replay Technologies: Replay technology for wraparound, 360-degree views at big-time sporting events. Intel has featured this technology at major events, including last year’s Super Bowl.
Ascending Technologies: Intel paired the German companies’ aerial drones with Intel’s own RealSense 3D cameras to give drones enhanced navigation capabilities. Drones remain a priority for Intel.
Movidius: Like the Mobileye deal, this transaction gave Intel new computer vision technology — this time focused on aerial drones and virtual reality.
Nervana: Pegged at $350 million, this acquisition gave Intel “machine learning” technology — enabling computers to observe the results of their actions and adjust to improve the results.
Voke: Intel created a new sports group inside the company for Voke, whose technology is designed to stream sporting events for virtual reality.
