Intel Announces $250 Million Investment for Autonomous Driving

Delivering his keynote address at the LA Auto Show’s AutoMobility conference, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced that Intel Capital is targeting more than $250 million of additional new investments over the next two years to make fully autonomous driving a reality. This is the first time Intel is keynoting at an automotive conference, signifying how critical the automotive market has become for the company.

These investments will drive the development of technologies that push the boundaries on next-generation connectivity, communication, context awareness, deep learning, security, safety and more. Drilling down into the areas that will be fueled by the fresh investments, Krzanich highlighted technologies that will drive global Internet of Things (IoT) innovation in transportation; areas where technology can directly mitigate risks while improving safety, mobility, and efficiency at a reduced cost; and companies that harness the value of the data to improve reliability of automated driving systems.

Addressing a large crowd of automotive and technology industry representatives, Krzanich talked about how the automotive industry is on the cusp of a major transformation, demanding unprecedented levels of computing, intelligence and connectivity. With the variety of sensors, sonar, LIDAR and cameras that will come embedded in autonomous cars, he highlighted the need for the industry to be prepared for the data deluge with over 4,000 GB of data coming from a single car each day.

The announcement is part of Intel’s ongoing work with automakers and system suppliers to help integrate advanced technologies into cars.

The automotive industry is on the cusp of a technological revolution that is set to have tremendous social, cultural and economic effects on our lives. Self-driving vehicles, which seemed like figments of our imagination even five years ago, can decrease accidents and save human lives. They can save the U.S. economy $121 billion a year in wasted time and fuel, and offer unprecedented levels of mobility to the elderly and disabled.

Delivering on this promise will require the full depth and breadth of Intel’s portfolio and expertise.

To meet the needs of the auto industry, Intel has developed a platform solution that spans both hardware and software for Advanced Driver Assisted Systems (ADAS),  Software Defined Cockpits and the heavy compute capabilities required for the fully autonomous cars of tomorrow. These solutions include scalable compute architectures stretching from the Atom to Xeon processors, coupled with capabilities in vision processing, 5G, cloud, machine learning and security. This allows automakers the freedom to realize their unique IP, provide experiences to consumers not yet imagined, and deliver the ability to securely update their platforms with new algorithms and features over the lifetime of the vehicle. The Intel advantage is a consistent architecture that the industry can work with that scales literally from a developer’s laptop to the data center.

A proven partner for automakers and suppliers, Intel has booked more than $1 Billion worth of design win revenue in the past 12 months. The company also has 49 design wins with leading global car manufacturers including BMW, Daimler, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar XF, Kia, Lexus, Mini Cooper, Rolls Royce, Toyota, Tesla and others.