Bad news! Mobileye (MBLY.US) decides to terminate its internal LiDAR development

Mobileye Global(MBLY.US) has decided to terminate the internal development of its next-generation frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) LiDAR for autonomous and highly autonomous systems.

The LiDAR development unit will be closed by the end of 2024, affecting about 100 employees. The estimated operating expenses of the LiDAR development unit in 2024 are about $60 million.

The decision to terminate the internal LiDAR development is based on multiple factors, including the company's substantial progress in computer vision perception based on EyeQ6, the improved performance of its internally developed imaging radar, and the continuous reduction in the cost of third-party time-of-flight (ToF) LiDAR.

Although this move is not expected to have a significant impact on Mobileye's 2024 performance, it can avoid future LiDAR development expenses.

The company said in a statement: "As part of our regular review of our long-term technology roadmap, we now believe that the availability of next-generation FMCW LiDAR is not as important for our non-visual systems roadmap."

Mobileye spun out from Intel(INTC.US) in 2022 and went public, but Intel retained a majority stake. According to media reports last week, Intel holds 88% of Mobileye, but is reportedly considering selling more shares through the open market or to a third party.

As of Monday's close, Mobileye fell more than 3%. The stock has fallen 74% this year.