Mobileye to launch its own robotaxi service in 2027

On Tuesday, Mobileye, an autonomous vehicle technology company owned by Intel, announced plans to launch a robotaxi service in a U.S. city in 2027. The move marks a strategic expansion for the company, which has traditionally operated as a supplier. Mobileye plans to establish a new operating business for the service, which will utilize its self-driving system, Mobileye Drive. The company will manage the fleet and plans to leverage Moovit, a transit and ride-hailing app it owns, for the consumer-facing portion of the service. The service will launch with an initial fleet of 100 autonomous vehicles, which will be phased in throughout 2027.

This shift to operating its own fleet places Mobileye in direct competition with some of the automakers it currently supplies. Mobileye currently supplies its self-driving system to Volkswagen and its subsidiary MOIA. However, Mobileye founder and CEO Amnon Shashua sought to clarify that the new operating business is not meant to replace its existing supplier relationships. “This initiative is not a replacement for our existing partnerships; it is an extension of them,” Shashua said. He added that while the company remains committed to supplying automakers with Mobileye Drive, operating its own service will allow it to accelerate adoption, gain direct operational experience, and showcase the full potential of autonomous mobility.

If successful, Mobileye plans to scale the service to about 17,000 robotaxis over the following five years. Shashua has long viewed the robotaxi sector as a necessary stepping stone toward broader passenger car autonomy. In a 2020 interview, he explained that achieving the ultimate goal of passenger car autonomy requires first establishing a robotaxi business. Commenting on the new initiative, Shashua noted that the robotaxi transition is in its early stages, and its potential to transform travel around the world continues to grow. While Mobileye has not named the specific vehicle it will use for the fleet, its announcement featured an illustration of a vehicle from Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors.

Why it matters

Mobileye is evolving from a technology supplier to a direct operator, a move that creates potential channel conflict with the automakers it currently supplies.