Intel to Acquire 15 Percent Ownership of HERE

Intel and HERE want to collaborate on technology for autonomous vehicles and Internet of Things (IoT). To achieve that, Intel is acquiring a 15 percent ownership stake in HERE, the Eindhoven based global provider of digital maps and location-based services for automotive and the IoT.

HERE is one of the competitors of TomTom. Intel and HERE plan to jointly develop a scalable proof-of-concept architecture that supports real-time updates of high-definition maps for automated driving as well as explore opportunities in IoT and machine learning.

HERE will add Intel’s nominee to its Supervisory Board of Directors when the transaction closes, which is expected in the first quarter of 2017. Intel wants to purchase the 15 percent ownership from HERE’s current indirect shareholders: AUDI AG, BMW AG and Daimler AG.

“Cars are rapidly becoming some of the world’s most intelligent, connected devices,” said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. “We look forward to working with HERE and its automotive partners to deliver an important technology foundation for smart and connected cars of the future.”

“A real-time, self-healing and high-definition representation of the physical world is critical for autonomous driving, and achieving this will require significantly more powerful and capable in-vehicle compute platforms,” said Edzard Overbeek, HERE CEO. “As a premier silicon provider, Intel can help accelerate HERE’s ambitions in this area by supporting the creation of a universal, always up-to-date digital location platform that spans the vehicle, the cloud and everything else connected.”

The proof-of-concept architecture HERE and Intel plan to deliver will be designed to help make autonomous driving as safe and predictable as possible. For example, today’s navigation technology can pinpoint a car’s location to within meters, but next generation, HD mapping supports localization to within centimeters. This will help vehicles precisely position themselves on the roadway to enable reliable autonomous driving functionality. HERE HD Live Map, HERE’s cloud service supporting vehicle automation, gives vehicles the ability to “see” obstacles beyond their immediate field of vision and receive real-time updates as environments change due to traffic, road conditions and other factors.

Intel will also work with AUDI AG, BMW AG and Daimler AG to test the architecture.

HERE is a private company with its origins in Philips Navteq, which is indirectly wholly owned by AUDI AG, BMW AG and Daimler AG. HERE is a global provider of embedded navigation solutions.