With the coronavirus outbreak disrupting the global economy, companies have started making investments in myriad other firms and new product launches. In one such incidence, the United States chipmaker, Intel Corporation, has declared buyout of the Israeli public transit application developer- Moovit. It has been reported that the financial terms of the deal have been set at USD 1 billion.

According to reliable reports, Moovit has reportedly raised USD 133 million from various investors including BMW iVentures, Intel, and Sequoia Capital. Moreover, a source close to the company anonymously states that the deal is nearing its closure.

For the uninitiated, Moovit’s free mobile navigation application offers transit information to over more than 750 million users in approximately 100 countries globally. Besides, the application launched an emergency mobilization service the last month, which was developed for transit agencies and enterprises amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Apparently, the technology converts vehicle fleets into an on-demand service to help employees travel safely to work. So far, the technology has been implemented in a number of cities by vivid large corporations.

This is not the first acquisition ever by the US chipmaker company in Israel. In 2017, Intel successfully acquired Mobileye in an outstanding transaction deal of USD 15.3 billion. Additionally, it also bought an AI firm-Habana Labs for USD 2 billion in December last year.

Speculations have it that the founder and CEO of Mobileye, Amnon Shashua has been placed on the board of directors of Moovit.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. Shashua cited that the Intel has stood tall in transformation of urban mobility owing to its significant investments in automated driving, smart infrastructure, and mobility management. The company has been working closely with some of the most renowned and innovative transit authorities, companies, and municipalities to build crucial foundational technologies for the transformation, he said, adding that Moovit is one of the global leaders in public transit data and analytics and an amalgamation of its technology and data with Mobileye’s technology and data would prove to be beneficial in making cities ready for autonomous vehicles.

Source credit: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/intel-buy-israel-moovit-public-transit-app-covid-19-coronavirus-12698200