Mobileye acquires Mentee Robotics for $900M, pushing into humanoid robots and Physical AI

Mobileye acquires humanoid robot startup Mentee Robotics for $900M

Mobileye made its name, and money, by supplying automakers with millions of computer vision chips designed to support automotive safety features and advanced driver assistance systems. The Intel subsidiary and publicly traded company later expanded to tackle autonomous driving through its chips and software. Now, co-founder and president Amnon Shashua is taking the company into what he calls Mobileye 3.0. And that means robotics and a hefty acquisition. The Israeli company announced Tuesday during CES in Las Vegas it has reached a deal to acquire Mentee Robotics -- a startup co-founded by Shashua in 2022 -- for $900 million. Under the agreement, Mobileye will buy Mentee Robotics for about $612 million in cash and up to 26.2 million shares of common stock. Shashua, who is the chairman, co-founder and a significant shareholder of Mentee, recused himself from the Mobileye board's consideration and approval, according to the company. The transaction, which was approved by the Mobileye board and Intel, its largest shareholder, is expected to close in the first quarter. The transaction is expected to modestly increase Mobileye's operating expenses in 2026 by a low-single-digit percentage. "Today marks a new chapter for robotics and automotive AI, and the beginning of Mobileye 3.0," Shashua said Tuesday. "By combining Mentee's breakthroughs in humanoid robotics with Mobileye's expertise in automotive autonomy, and its proven ability to productize advanced AI, we have a unique opportunity to lead the evolution of physical AI across robotics and autonomous vehicles on a global scale." Mentee Robotics, which is developing humanoid robots, will continue as an independent unit within Mobileye. Of course, with Shashua as brains and shareholder between the two companies, there will surely be plenty of overlap. The benefits for Mobileye aren't entirely obvious except that every one seems to be jumping into the humanoid robot game these days. Officially, Mobileye said the acquisition "broadens the scope of the business with a decisive step toward Physical Artificial Intelligence in general." Specifically, systems that are designed to understand context and intent as well as act natural with humans and the physical world. In other words, Mobileye, and Shashua, seem to want to move beyond the technology used to allow vehicles to navigate the world and apply it to humanoid robots as well. The company suggests in its announcement it has the funds to get it there, noting that its current automotive revenue pipeline -- driven by its advanced vehicle autonomy and core advanced driver assistance tech -- is $24.5 billion over the next eight years. The company said that pipeline figure is up more than 40% compared to January 2023. Of course, the development of humanoid robots that can eventually go into production will be a costly enterprise. Mentee stands to gain considerably as it can tap into Mobileye's resources, which include advanced AI training infrastructure -- aka compute. The acquisition news comes a day after Mobileye announced another customer win for its next-generation chip built for hands-off advanced driver assistance systems. The company announced Monday that a "top 10 automaker" struck a deal to buy 9 million of its EyeQ6H-based Surround ADAS systems. Volkswagen Group announced in March it would also use the chip. Mobileye now estimates future delivery of more than 19 million EyeQ6H-based Surround systems.

Mobileye to Buy Humanoid Robot Maker Mentee for $900 Million

Mentee will continue to operate independently for at least two years and will gain access to Mobileye's customer base, with plans to develop humanoids for household use by the end of the decade. Self-driving car systems company Mobileye Global Inc. is acquiring Israeli startup Mentee Robotics in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $900 million, as it looks to develop humanoid robots. The deal comprises $612 million in cash and as many as 26,229,714 shares of Mobileye Class A common stock, according to the company. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. The acquisition is notable for its size and founder overlap between the two companies. Both were co-founded by Israeli computer scientist Amnon Shashua, currently chief executive officer of Mobileye and chairman of Mentee. Another Mentee co-founder, Shai Shalev-Schwartz, is chief technology officer at Mobileye. Shashua recused himself from the decision, which was approved by Mobileye's board and its biggest shareholder Intel Corp., Mobileye said. The acquisition comes after Mobileye struck a dealBloomberg Terminal with an unnamed US automaker to install its safety software in 9 million vehicles. Shares were up 2.5% at close of trading on Monday. Mentee, formed in 2022, has raised $50 million to date at an undisclosed valuation. Carmakers are increasingly experimenting with making general-purpose humanoid robots. That includes Tesla Inc.'s Optimus and Hyundai Motor Company's acquisition of robot company Boston Dynamics, as well as a major push into the sector by Chinese automotive companies. Still, the technology has limitations. Humanoid robots have a tendency to malfunction, cost a lot to make and have limited battery and weight capacity. Robots are a growth area for Mobileye, Shashua said in an interview with Bloomberg News. "There are a lot of synergies and it makes sense to put them under the same roof," he said. Get the Tech Newsletter bundle. Get the Tech Newsletter bundle. Get the Tech Newsletter bundle. Bloomberg's subscriber-only tech newsletters, and full access to all the articles they feature. Bloomberg's subscriber-only tech newsletters, and full access to all the articles they feature. Bloomberg's subscriber-only tech newsletters, and full access to all the articles they feature. Bloomberg may send me offers and promotions. Plus Signed UpPlus Sign UpPlus Sign Up By submitting my information, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Mentee's technology is still in development, and the startup has been in discussions with customers on proofs of concept. But one area where humanoid robots may be useful is in assembling cars, a growing market that is expected to reach $5 billion in 2035, according to a report by Bloomberg Intelligence. Despite the growing interest, existing models "operate at about half the efficiency of humans in complex tasks" and cost around $150,000, and companies can expect a return on investment after about a decade, according to the report. Mentee will continue to operate independently for at least two years, and will gain access to Mobileye's customer base as part of the deal. That includes the world's largest carmakers, said Shashua. The startup will begin rolling out humanoids for fulfillment centers and factories, he said. "There's a lot of overlap with customers, because if we're saying that the first generation will go to fulfillment centers and production plants, who's producing? Carmakers are producing," he said. Mentee hopes to develop humanoids for household use by the end of the decade, Shashua said, with Mobileye helping with manufacturing and production. The CEO said he expects the price of the humanoids could drop below $20,000 if production ramps up to 100,000 robots. Inside Mentee At the entrance of Mentee's offices in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, several decommissioned humanoids swing from rope. "This is the graveyard for the old robots," explains CEO Lior Wolf. Inside, engineers train the latest model -- a sleek, life-size black humanoid -- to remove a battery connected to another humanoid's back and replace it with a charged one. These batteries can last several hours and recharge within 40 minutes, according to Wolf. Though the company is only four years old and employs fewer than 100 workers, nearly all of the hardware and software components -- such as the actuators, batteries, robotic hands and algorithms powering the robots -- are developed in-house, according to Wolf. The company's AI team works on a simulation, which shows dozens of humanoids performing a task from various angles. "We need to minimize the gap between simulation and reality, the sim-to-real gap," said Wolf. "Training inside of a simulator is not that difficult, but whether it would walk in the real world afterward, this is the big challenge." "This is why we have complete vertical integration of everything here," he said. "We have control over all the components and we also have algorithms that make sure that the gap is as narrow as possible." Those challenges were on display during a demonstration of the battery swap. In the first attempt, a Mentee humanoid shuffled toward another robot and removed the battery, placed it on the rack, but dropped the new battery while trying to position it. It successfully replaced the battery during the second attempt.

Mobileye to acquire humanoid robotics startup Mentee for $900 million

LAS VEGAS, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Mobileye Global (MBLY.O), opens new tab on Tuesday said it would acquire humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics for about $900 million, as the Israeli self-driving technology firm bets on what it sees as the next frontier of artificial intelligence. The deal highlights the overlap between autonomous driving and robotics, where similar sensing, perception and decision-making technologies underpin the emerging field of embodied AI. Interest in humanoid robotics, in particular, is surging, driven by the idea that human-like forms can better adapt to existing warehouses, factories and complex settings, helping to ease labor shortages and boost productivity. Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab spun out its computer vision business RealSense last year to speed expansion into robotics. It also remains the largest shareholder in Mobileye with about a 23% stake. Amnon Shashua, who serves as the CEO of Mobileye, cofounded Mentee Robotics and is the startup's co-CEO. Mentee raised about $21 million in a funding round in March, valuing the startup at roughly $162 million, according to PitchBook data. The company counts Cisco and Samsung's VC arms among its investors. Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, Figure AI, Agility Robotics and several Chinese startups are among the companies racing to develop two-legged robots capable of performing a wide range of tasks. Tesla CEO Elon Musk expects humanoid robots to become the company's largest business in the long term. The deal, announced at the CES technology show in Las Vegas, brings together Mobileye's software, sensing and safety systems for self-driving cars with Mentee's development of general-purpose humanoid robots. Mentee Robotics says it bypasses the need for massive real-world data collection to train the robot by transforming a single human demonstration into millions of virtual repetitions. First proof-of-concept deployments with customers are expected in 2026, with series production and commercialization targeted for 2028. It added that the transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in Las Vegas; Editing by Vijay Kishore Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Mobileye to acquire AI humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics in $900M deal - SiliconANGLE

Mobileye to acquire AI humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics in $900M deal Automotive chip maker Mobileye Global Inc. announced today that it had entered an agreement to acquire artificial intelligence humanoid robotics company Mentee Robotics Ltd. in a $900 million deal. The deal consists of $612 million in cash and up to around 26.2 million shares in Mobileye Class A common stock, subject to adjustment based on the vesting of any Mentee options before closing. Founded in 2022, Mentee Robotics is an Israeli humanoid robotics startup co-founded by Prof. Amnon Shashua - the founder and chief executive officer of Mobileye, Prof. Lior Wolf - Mentee CEO and former Facebook AI Research director and Prof. Shai Shalev-Shwartz, a renowned machine-learning researcher. The company's mission has been to build intelligent, general-purpose humanoid robots that can operate in real-world environments, be it in warehouses or household spaces, using advanced AI rather than rigid, predefined automation. The use of AI is core to Mentee's approach, as it aims to train its robots using a combination of simulation-based learning and human demonstration that allows a robot to learn complex tasks from a single human example and then generalize that behavior in millions of virtual training iterations. The "mentoring" paradigm is designed to overcome one of the biggest bottlenecks in robotics - the need for massive amounts of real-world data - by turning limited demonstrations into rich datasets for learning. Mentee has developed the MenteeBot series of humanoid robots that includes proprietary hardware and software, including articulated limbs, actuators capable of handling significant payloads and combinatorial AI that integrates perception, control and decision-making. For its robots, Mentee is targeting use cases where traditional industrial robots fall short, especially in unstructured or dynamic environments like logistics hubs or service spaces, by focusing on general-purpose capabilities, such as lifting, manipulation and navigation. For Mobileye, the acquisition will broaden the scope of its business with a step towards physical artificial intelligence in general - systems designed to understand context, infer intent, interact naturally with humans and act safely and effectively in the physical world in an economically scalable manner. The acquisition will also accelerate Mentee's go-to-market strategy, with first on-site proof-of-concept deployments with customers expected in 2026. The deployments are intended to operate autonomously without teleoperation and series production and commercialization are targeted for 2028. "Today marks a new chapter for robotics and automotive AI and the beginning of Mobileye 3.0," said Prof. Amnon Shashua, president and CEO of Mobileye. "By combining Mentee's breakthroughs in humanoid robotics with Mobileye's expertise in automotive autonomy and its proven ability to productize advanced AI, we have a unique opportunity to lead the evolution of physical AI across robotics and autonomous vehicles on a global scale." Coming into its acquisition, Mentee had raised around $17 million, according to data from Tracxn, although some sources put the amount raised as high as $41 million. Investors in the company included Ahren Innovation Capital LP, Hookipa Pharma AG and Cisco Investments Inc. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.

Mobileye acquires Mentee Robotics for $900 million to enter humanoid market

Mobileye, an Intel subsidiary, announced at CES in Las Vegas the acquisition of Mentee Robotics for $900 million to advance into robotics under its Mobileye 3.0 phase, led by co-founder Amnon Shashua who co-founded the target in 2022. Mobileye established its position in the market by supplying automakers with millions of computer-vision chips. These chips support automotive safety features and advanced driver assistance systems, known as ADAS. The company, which is publicly traded, later extended its offerings to autonomous driving through specialized chips and software. Amnon Shashua, serving as co-founder and president, now directs the company toward Mobileye 3.0, with a primary focus on robotics. The agreement specifies that Mobileye will purchase Mentee Robotics for approximately $612 million in cash along with up to 26.2 million shares of Mobileye common stock. Shashua, who holds positions as chairman, co-founder, and significant shareholder of Mentee Robotics, recused himself from the Mobileye board's consideration and approval process. The transaction received approval from Mobileye's board and from Intel, Mobileye's largest shareholder. The deal is set to close during the first quarter of the year. This acquisition is projected to result in a modest increase to Mobileye's operating expenses in 2026, specifically by a low-single-digit percentage. Shashua commented on the development during the announcement. "Today marks a new chapter for robotics and automotive AI, and the beginning of Mobileye 3.0," Shashua said Tuesday. "By combining Mentee's breakthroughs in humanoid robotics with Mobileye's expertise in automotive autonomy, and its proven ability to productize advanced AI, we have a unique opportunity to lead the evolution of physical AI across robotics and autonomous vehicles on a global scale." Mentee Robotics, which specializes in developing humanoid robots, will operate as an independent unit within Mobileye. The acquisition extends Mobileye's business scope toward Physical Artificial Intelligence. This involves systems designed to understand context and intent, as well as to interact naturally with humans and the physical world. Mobileye intends to adapt its vehicle-navigation technology, originally developed for automotive applications, to humanoid robots. Mobileye supports this expansion with a substantial automotive revenue pipeline. This pipeline, driven by advanced vehicle autonomy and core ADAS technologies, totals $24.5 billion over the next eight years. The figure represents an increase of more than 40 percent compared to the pipeline value reported in January 2023. Mentee Robotics will access Mobileye's resources, including advanced AI training infrastructure and compute capabilities, to support its development efforts. The acquisition announcement occurred one day after Mobileye secured a significant customer order. On Monday, a top-10 automaker agreed to purchase 9 million units of Mobileye's EyeQ6H-based Surround ADAS systems. These systems are built for next-generation, hands-off advanced driver assistance. In March, Volkswagen Group confirmed its adoption of the EyeQ6H chip. Mobileye now projects delivery of more than 19 million EyeQ6H-based Surround systems in the future.

Mobileye Pitches Robotaxis As Next Big Growth Vertical At CES - Mobileye Global (NASDAQ:MBLY)

Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLY) used its CES stage to widen its bet beyond driver assistance, unveiling a $900 million deal for Mentee Robotics that pushes the company into "physical AI" for industrial fleets. At the same time, the company framed robotaxis as a core growth vertical, detailing a Volkswagen-backed MOIA program targeting a Level 4-ready vehicle by February 2026 and a driverless U.S. launch in the second half of 2026. JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee said Mobileye Global laid out a clear growth roadmap at its CES 2026 press conference. Robotics Deal Opens A New Growth Engine JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee maintained a Neutral rating on Mobileye. Mobileye used CES to announce its $900 million acquisition of Mentee Robotics, a move Chatterjee views as a strategic expansion into "physical AI." Management said the deal builds on technology already used in autonomous driving, the analyst told. Mobileye plans to target near-term robotics deployments in structured settings such as factories and fulfillment centers, with production expected in 2028, he noted. Longer term, the company aims to enter unstructured environments like homes by the end of the decade, Chatterjee said. Core Automotive Business Shows Strong Momentum The analyst noted that Mobileye reported robust progress in its core ADAS business. The company said it won about 95% of RFQs with its top-10 automaker customers in 2025 and added new OEM partners, including Volvo and Subaru, he said. Mobileye now sees a $24.5 billion design pipeline through 2033, with most of that awarded in just the past three years, Chatterjee said. Its chips already power roughly 230 million vehicles globally, the analyst said. Robotaxis And Autonomy Programs Advance Toward Launch Mobileye highlighted growing momentum in robotaxis, led by partnerships with Volkswagen and MOIA, he said. The company plans to deliver a Level-4-ready vehicle in early 2026 and launch driverless service in the U.S. later that year, followed by expansion to multiple cities, Chatterjee noted. The analyst added that Mobileye is also pushing to cut system costs for advanced driver assistance while refining higher-level autonomy toward near-zero human intervention, supported by its simulation-driven autonomy stack. MBLY Price Action: Mobileye Global shares were up 1.52% at $12.36 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo by T. Schneider via Shutterstock MBLYMobileye Global Inc$12.290.86%OverviewMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Mobileye buys Shashua's Mentee Robotics for $900m

Mobileye has agreed to acquire Mentee Robotics, a robotics startup also founded by Amnon Shashua Israeli advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) company Mobileye Global Inc (Nasdaq: MBLY) founder and CEO Prof. Amnon Shashua announced last night at the CES electronics trade show in Las Vegas that the company is acquiring humanoid robotics company Mentee Robotics, which he himself founded. Mobileye will pay $900 million including $612 million in cash and the balance in regular Mobileye shares. Mentee has raised over $40 million to date and received a valuation of $162 million at its most recent financing round in March 2025, according to PitchBook. The biggest winners from the deal will be Shashua himself and cofounder Prof. Shai Shalev-Shwartz, a computer scientist and machine learning researcher and Mentee's CEO Prof. Lior Wolf as well as Israeli venture capital fund 10D and US funds Ahren, Cisco Ventures. The deal has been approved by Intel, the controlling shareholder in Mobileye. Shashua did not participate in approving the deal. He will receive $341 million, half in cash and the rest in Mobileye shares, while Prof. Shalev-Shwartz will receive $118 million from the deal before taxes, split equally between cash and shares. Mobileye has issued several clarifications due to the fact that Shashua serves as both CEO of the acquiring company and a prominent founder of the acquired company. "The acquisition was approved by the Mobileye board of directors following the recommendation of the Strategic Transactions Committee consisting of independent directors and Intel, Mobileye's largest shareholder. Intel also approved the acquisition as the sole Class B shareholder in Mobileye. Prof. Shashua, who also serves as chairman, co-founder and significant shareholder of Mentee, refrained from consideration and approval of the transaction by the Mobileye board of directors. "Mentee will operate as an independent unit within Mobileye, utilizing Mobileye's training infrastructure to accelerate the integration of software and AI hardware capabilities. The transaction is expected to slightly increase Mobileye's operating expenses in 2026 by a low single-digit percentage." Mobileye has $1.7 billion in cash, so even after the transaction it will hold over $1 billion in cash. Autonomous driving and humanoid robots go hand in hand Behind the acquisition is the perception, held by figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Elon Musk, that the future lies in physical AI models -- and that autonomous driving of vehicles and humanoid robots go hand in hand and constitute the most mature expression of AI in the real world. Last night, Huang presented an autonomous driving model called Alpamayo and a model for operating humanoid robots under the Groot brand. "The acquisition will create leaders in physical AI in two groundbreaking markets: autonomous driving and humanoid robotics," Shashua said. Humanoids are humanoid robots that are usually capable of picking up objects, classifying them, packaging them or assembling products from them. Mentee's high value, although its robots are still in development, is derived in part from the high value of similar companies. US company Figure AI was valued last May at $39 billion after raising $1.5 billion. German company Neura Robotics raised $1.16 billion just two months ago at a valuation of over $10 billion. The fact that Nvidia is introducing the robotics field and the humanoid market in particular is causing a surge of value in the market and bringing investors and deals to it. As far as is known, this is also the largest merger deal between an automotive company and humanoid robotics to date, even larger than the acquisition of the US company Boston Dynamics by Korea's Hyundai in 2021 for $ 880 million. Mentee's robots are expected to enter the market in just two years and will deal with the areas that the company has been talking about since its inception: supplying robots to logistics centers and factories. Goldman Sachs served as financial advisor for the deal, and Mobileye's lawyers were the firms of Erdinast and Davis Polk and Wardwell. Mentee was represented by law firms Shibolet & Co. and Paul Hastings.

Why Mobileye Stock Rose Today

A bold acquisition should bolster the computer vision leader's physical AI ambitions. Shares of Mobileye Global (MBLY +0.49%) climbed on Wednesday after the autonomous driving technology provider struck a deal to acquire Mentee Robotics for $900 million in cash and stock. By the close of trading, Mobileye's stock price was up less than 1% after rising as much as 17.7% earlier in the day. Bringing together robotics and automotive AI Under the terms of the deal, Mobileye would purchase Mentee for roughly $612 million in cash and up to 26.2 million shares of Mobileye. The transaction is projected to close in the first quarter of 2026. The merger would combine Mobileye's mobility tech and manufacturing network with the robotics start-up's simulation-based humanoid platform. Mentee is designing its robots to be cost-efficient and broadly functional, with a rapid learning system that requires fewer human demonstrations. Mobileye wants to quicken Mentee's pace in the AI race The two companies intend to fast-track Mentee's go-to-market plans by working together to achieve performance, safety, and cost requirements. Mentee expects to deploy its first proof-of-concept systems to customers later this year. "Joining forces with Mobileye gives us access to unparalleled AI infrastructure and commercialization expertise, accelerating our mission to bring scalable, safe, and cost-effective humanoid solutions to market," Mentee CEO Lior Wolf said in a press release.

Mobileye's Mentee Robotics acquisition seen by analysts as broadening scope of company

Shares of Mobileye (MBLY) rose about 2% on Wednesday after the company said it would acquire humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics for about $900M, which drew largely positive reactions from analysts. "The acquisition broadens MBLY's scope beyond automotive end markets The acquisition expands Mobileye's scope beyond automotive, broadens its AI capabilities into humanoid robotics, increases its total addressable market, and positions it as a partner for OEMs entering AI. Risks include strong competition from incumbents like Tesla and Chinese manufacturers, the capital-intensive robotics industry, and challenges scaling the autonomy technology and reducing costs for robotaxis. Investors question the strategic rationale of spending $900M (including $612M cash and 3.2% dilution) on a pre-revenue startup given its uncertain payoff and industry risks.

Why Is Mobileye Stock Soaring Wednesday? - Mobileye Global (NASDAQ:MBLY)

Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLY) disclosed a definitive agreement to acquire Mentee Robotics, an AI-first humanoid robotics company, for $900 million, subject to adjustments. The total consideration comprises approximately $612 million in cash and up to approximately 26.2 million Mobileye Class A shares, adjusted for any Mentee options that vest prior to closing. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. The deal pairs Mobileye's advanced AI and global manufacturing capabilities with Mentee's third-generation, vertically integrated humanoid platform and deep AI expertise. This will position the combined company as a leader in physical AI spanning autonomous driving and humanoid robotics. The acquisition meaningfully extends this trajectory by positioning the company squarely in Physical AI, systems that can understand context, infer intent, interact naturally with people, and operate safely and cost-effectively in real-world environments. Strong momentum in advanced autonomy and core ADAS has expanded Mobileye's automotive revenue pipeline to $24.5 billion over the next eight years, more than 40% higher than in January 2023. Hands-Free Driving Deal This week, the company announced that a U.S.-based automaker has selected the Mobileye EyeQ6H to enable advanced driver assistance systems with hands-free driving capabilities on select highways across millions of vehicles worldwide. Recent Earnings In October, the company reported third-quarter revenue growth of 4% year-on-year to $504.00 million, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $480.86 million. Mobileye raised fiscal 2025 revenue guidance to $1.845 billion-$1.885 billion (up from prior guidance of $1.765 billion- $1.885 billion) versus the $1.847 billion analyst consensus estimate. MBLY Price Action: Mobileye Global shares were up 10.59% at $13.47 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo by T. Schneider via Shutterstock MBLYMobileye Global Inc$13.5010.8%OverviewMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Stock Market Today, Jan. 7: Mobileye Global Jumps After Announcing $900 Million Mentee Robotics Acquisition | The Motley Fool

Mobileye Global (MBLY +0.49%), which develops advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving technologies, closed Wednesday's session at $12.24, up 0.49%. The action followed premarket news of Mobileye's $900 million acquisition of Mentee Robotics. Trading volume reached 50.8 million shares, approximately 800% above its three-month average of 5.8 million. Mobileye IPO'd in 2022 and has fallen 58% since going public. The S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.34%) slipped 0.34% to 6,922, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.16%) inched up 0.16% to 23,584. Within the auto parts industry, rivals Aptiv fell 0.56% and BorgWarner declined 0.94%. It has been a big week for Mobileye. Two days removed from receiving two rating upgrades from Wall Street investment firms -- and one day after the company landed a major deal with a U.S. carmaker for its ADAS -- Mobileye acquired humanoid robotics upstart Mentee Robotics for $900 million. Mobileye initially rallied 15% this morning before giving up most of these gains as the market digested the news. While Mentee's robotics may not align perfectly with Mobileye's current ADAS-focused operations, I believe there could be a few synergies that give the deal some potential. The AI perception and decision-making technology used in Mobileye's existing operations pair well with Mentee's humanoid robots and their capacity for observational learning. I'm admittedly fascinated by this deal, but investors should be warned that this bet could take multiple years to pay off for Mobileye and further makes Tesla a direct competitor.

Mobileye to acquire humanoid robotics startup Mentee for $900 million

LAS VEGAS, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Mobileye Global on Tuesday said it would acquire humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics for about $900 million, as the Israeli self-driving technology firm bets on what it sees as the next frontier of artificial intelligence. The deal highlights the overlap between autonomous driving and robotics, where similar sensing, perception and decision-making technologies underpin the emerging field of embodied AI. Interest in humanoid robotics, in particular, is surging, driven by the idea that human-like forms can better adapt to existing warehouses, factories and complex settings, helping to ease labor shortages and boost productivity. Intel spun out its computer vision business RealSense last year to speed expansion into robotics. It also remains the largest shareholder in Mobileye with about a 23% stake. Amnon Shashua, who serves as the CEO of Mobileye, cofounded Mentee Robotics and is the startup's co-CEO. Mentee raised about $21 million in a funding round in March, valuing the startup at roughly $162 million, according to PitchBook data. The company counts Cisco and Samsung's VC arms among its investors. Tesla, Figure AI, Agility Robotics and several Chinese startups are among the companies racing to develop two-legged robots capable of performing a wide range of tasks. Tesla CEO Elon Musk expects humanoid robots to become the company's largest business in the long term. The deal, announced at the CES technology show in Las Vegas, brings together Mobileye's software, sensing and safety systems for self-driving cars with Mentee's development of general-purpose humanoid robots. Mentee Robotics says it bypasses the need for massive real-world data collection to train the robot by transforming a single human demonstration into millions of virtual repetitions. First proof-of-concept deployments with customers are expected in 2026, with series production and commercialization targeted for 2028. It added that the transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in Las Vegas; Editing by Vijay Kishore)