Mobileye is making a significant bet on the convergence of autonomous driving and humanoid robotics by acquiring AI-first startup Mentee Robotics for $900 million. This move signals a clear strategic pivot towards what Mobileye terms "Physical AI," aiming to leverage shared technological foundations between self-driving cars and general-purpose robots.
The Physical AI Play
Mentee brings a third-generation, vertically integrated humanoid platform and a distinct AI approach focused on human-to-robot mentoring and simulation-first training, designed to minimize real-world data reliance. Mobileye sees Mentee's advancements in vision-language-action and Sim2Real transfer techniques as direct enhancements for its existing autonomy stack, potentially improving generalization in complex driving scenarios. Conversely, Mobileye's established safety frameworks, like RSS, are crucial for the verifiable safety required for humanoids operating alongside people.
With Mentee targeting on-site customer proofs-of-concept in 2026 and series production by 2028, this acquisition isn't just about cars anymore; it's about scaling intelligent physical interaction across industries.
