Mobileye Global Inc. is entering the humanoid robotics field with a planned $900 million acquisition of Mentee Robotics Ltd., advancing its ambition to lead in both autonomous driving and physical artificial intelligence. By joining forces, the two Israeli companies aim to combine their expertise in AI-powered mobility and robotics, setting the stage for new products that target industry, logistics, and eventually household use. The planned deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026 and underscores an industry-wide interest in applying machine learning and computer vision across multiple sectors. Stakeholders and onlookers are watching closely to see how the merger will impact both companies’ offerings in the evolving robotics landscape.
Mobileye has focused on automotive technologies like advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous mobility, utilizing its EyeQ system-on-chip solution and mapping platform. Mentee Robotics, newly emerged from stealth mode in 2024, takes a broader approach by developing general-purpose humanoid robots capable of understanding scenes, manipulating objects, and navigating real-world environments with minimal instruction. While previous news reports centered on prototype demonstrations and early technical milestones, the recent acquisition introduces a strategic alignment between R&D and large-scale commercialization. This move also marks Mobileye’s first venture into robotics hardware beyond the vehicle sector, setting it apart from its competitors, who remain focused primarily on automotive or industrial automation.
What Drives Mobileye’s Humanoid Ambitions?
Combining Mentee’s simulation and real-world learning—dubbed “Real2Sim2Real”—with Mobileye’s production and AI infrastructure, both companies expect to advance in integrating robotics into various environments. Prof. Amnon Shashua, Mobileye’s CEO and co-founder, highlighted the potential impact during CES 2026:
“Today marks a new chapter for robotics and automotive AI, and the beginning of Mobileye 3.0.”
Mentee’s platform builds on environmental awareness, robust navigation, and safe object manipulation, which align with Mobileye’s safety- and performance-driven engineering philosophy.
How Will Technical Synergies Shape the New Combined Portfolio?
Both firms suggest that integrating Mobileye’s autonomy stack with Mentee’s vision-language-action models can offer faster adaptation to new environments, safer navigation among people and machines, and accelerated development cycles. Mobileye’s background in formal safety models and scalable AI training, previously applied to driverless vehicles, creates overlapping competencies for future humanoid robot deployment in structured industrial settings. Additionally, MenteeBot’s design incorporates proprietary hardware alongside software for rapid learning and real-time, autonomous task management.
When Will Humanoid Robots Reach Real-World Markets?
Production of MenteeBot is planned to begin in 2027, initially targeting industrial customers before a prospective launch into the consumer market around 2030. These steps will involve proof-of-concept deployments, manufacturing pilot batches, and market validation prior to broad commercial rollout. Prof. Lior Wolf, CEO of Mentee Robotics, commented on the strategic advantages the acquisition brings:
“Joining forces with Mobileye gives us access to unparalleled AI infrastructure and commercialization expertise, accelerating our mission to bring scalable, safe, and cost-effective humanoid solutions to market.”
Earlier announcements by Mentee focused on demonstration videos and technical prototyping of their humanoid platform. With Mobileye’s acquisition, attention now shifts to market readiness, manufacturing partnerships, and regulatory compliance—topics that were previously secondary. With both companies sharing leadership connections, observers are curious about internal governance, but Mobileye maintains that the transaction was overseen by independent directors and its primary owner, Intel Corp.
The union reveals clear ambitions to bring physical AI to a wider spectrum of daily life, spanning from warehouse and fulfillment operations to, eventually, unstructured home environments. As other companies pursue narrow robotics or autonomy goals, Mobileye and Mentee Robotics are betting on a convergence of physical and cognitive AI. For readers interested in robotics, the timeline and focus on simulation-to-reality learning provide insight into how tasks that currently require extensive programming may soon be achievable by adaptive, self-improving robots. Monitoring progress on production capabilities, safety frameworks, and customer adoption will be important for evaluating success in this newly competitive field.
