Intel is staying focused on its AV push as Mobileye revenue grows

This is an excerpt from a story delivered exclusively to Business Insider Intelligence Transportation & Logistics Briefing subscribers. To receive the full story plus other insights each morning, click here.Intel's Mobileye advanced driver assistance tech unit reported $209 million in revenue for Q1 2019, up 38% year-over-year (YoY), as the semiconductor giant continues to bolster its presence in the advanced and autonomous vehicle (AV) tech space. The revenue growth accompanies reports that Intel is also laying off personnel from its other AV units and realigning efforts behind Mobileye, per The Information via Apple Insider.Here's what it means: Intel's $15.3 billion purchase of Mobileye in 2017 is bearing fruit, and the company is building momentum behind the Israel-based unit's advanced and autonomous vehicle efforts.Mobileye's marked revenue growth was largely due to an expanded product portfolio and customer base, Intel CFO George Davis stated on the company's earnings call. The unit added eight customers for its advanced driver assistance system designs in the quarter, including its first in India. The quarterly revenue figure represents a record figure for Mobileye, both within Intel and prior to the acquisition, though YoY growth is actually down for the second consecutive quarter.This success is pushing Intel to centralize its AV development efforts within Mobileye rather than maintaining multiple branches. Mobileye's headcount has doubled since the Intel acquisition, per The Information. In conjunction with the reported layoffs among Intel's other AV units based in California indicates that Intel is putting Mobileye at the forefront of its self-driving push. The tighter focus will enable Intel to take advantage of Mobileye's strong brand — it boasts dozens of existing partnerships with automakers — while also avoiding any confusion with Intel's brand or its core chip and tech businesses.The bigger picture: Developing AVs remains more of a computing problem than a vehicle problem, which is why giants in the semiconductor and tech space are bringing their AI chops to the market. But they're also branding those systems independently to enable streamlined development, sales, and customer relationship development.Intel is one of the players on the market with the most advanced and productized offering thanks to the acquisition of Mobileye and its existing relationships and contracts within the auto space. Nvidia, another semiconductor design firm with roots in graphics processing, is also working to develop a self-driving vehicle platform, dubbed Drive, and is lining up customers in the auto space to employ its systems in their semi- and fully autonomous cars. Alphabet, in a strategy akin to Intel's, grouped all of its AV development efforts within Waymo, a separate company that is already operating a limited commercial autonomous ride-hailing service. Each of these companies operates independent from its parent company and boasts clear branding for its autonomous efforts, which will make both developing and building on customer bases a simpler process.Interested in getting the full story？ Here are two ways to get access: 1. Sign up for the Transportation & Logistics Briefing to get it delivered to your inbox 4x a week. >> Get Started2. Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to the Transportation & Logistics Briefing, plus more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now