Mobileye Enters Robotics with $900M Acquisition of Humanoid Startup Mentee Robotics
Mobileye, the Intel-backed company known for its computer vision chips powering automotive safety and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), is taking a bold step beyond autonomous vehicles. The company announced a major acquisition at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, signaling what co-founder and president Amnon Shashua calls Mobileye 3.0.
Expanding into Physical AI
Founded as a leader in automotive AI, Mobileye has now agreed to acquire Mentee Robotics, a humanoid robotics startup co-founded by Shashua in 2022, for $900 million. The deal includes approximately $612 million in cash and up to 26.2 million shares of common stock. Shashua recused himself from Mobileye’s board approval process due to his role and shareholding in Mentee Robotics.
The acquisition has been approved by both the Mobileye board and Intel, its largest shareholder, and is expected to close in Q1 2026. Mobileye estimates that the deal will modestly increase its 2026 operating expenses by a low single-digit percentage.
“Today marks a new chapter for robotics and automotive AI, and the beginning of Mobileye 3.0,” Shashua said during the CES announcement. “By combining Mentee’s breakthroughs in humanoid robotics with Mobileye’s expertise in automotive autonomy, and its proven ability to productize advanced AI, we have a unique opportunity to lead the evolution of physical AI across robotics and autonomous vehicles on a global scale.”
Mentee Robotics to Operate as Independent Unit
Mentee Robotics will continue as an independent unit within Mobileye, maintaining its focus on humanoid robots. While the company will operate autonomously, Shashua’s dual role as founder and shareholder of both companies is likely to encourage collaboration between the teams.
Mobileye described the acquisition as a step toward Physical Artificial Intelligence—systems that can understand human context and intent while interacting naturally in the physical world. In practical terms, this suggests the company is aiming to extend its autonomous navigation technology beyond vehicles into humanoid robotics.
Strong Financial Backing
Mobileye’s automotive business provides a robust financial foundation for this venture. The company reported an automotive revenue pipeline of $24.5 billion over the next eight years, up more than 40% compared to January 2023. This revenue comes from its advanced driver assistance and autonomous vehicle technologies, offering the capital to invest in the expensive development of humanoid robots.
For Mentee Robotics, joining Mobileye opens access to extensive AI infrastructure and compute resources, accelerating its work on production-ready humanoid robots.
Continued Automotive Momentum
The robotics acquisition comes on the heels of Mobileye’s continued automotive successes. On Monday, the company announced a deal with a “top 10 automaker” to supply 9 million EyeQ6H-based Surround ADAS systems, built for hands-off advanced driver assistance. Earlier this year, Volkswagen Group also confirmed plans to adopt the chip. Mobileye now expects to deliver more than 19 million EyeQ6H-based Surround systems in the near future.
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