Mobileye to shutter lidar development unit; will impact 100 jobs

(Reuters) - Self-driving tech firm Mobileye said on Monday it will stop the development of a type of sensor technology that helps detect objects and their distance as the Israeli company streamlines operations amid an uncertain demand environment.

The decision to end the internal development of next-generation frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) lidars will not impact any customer product programs or product development in general, according to Mobileye.

The company will wind down the R&D unit that works on light detection and ranging, or lidar, by the end of 2024, affecting about 100 employees. Mobileye employed a total of 3,700 people globally as of Dec. 30, 2023.

Operating expenses for the lidar R&D unit are expected to be about $60 million in 2024, the company said.

"This decision was based on a variety of factors, including substantial progress on our EyeQ6-based computer vision perception, increased clarity on the performance of our internally developed imaging radar," according to Mobileye.

Continued better-than-expected cost reductions in third-party time-of-flight lidar units also contributed to the decision to shutter internal FMCW lidar development, the company added.

Closing of the unit is not expected to have a material impact on the company's results in 2024, Mobileye said. The company cut its annual revenue and profit forecasts last month, slammed by volatile demand for its driver-assistance chips in China.

In March, the company said it would shut its aftermarket solutions unit that provides retrofitted advanced driver assistance technology, affecting about 130 employees.

Mobileye will continue to develop its in-house imaging radar, which is on schedule to enter production next year, the company added.

Last week, Bloomberg News reported that chipmaker Intel was looking to sell a part of its stake in Mobileye.

(Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)