Krystal Hu, Anirban S

(Reuters) – Intel Corp (NASDAQ) Mobileye (F) has reached out to investment banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE 🙂 Morgan Stanley According to three sources familiar with the matter, (NYSE:), to head preparations for the first public offering of the self driving car unit.

Mobileye could be valued at up to $50 billion in the stock market flotation that is scheduled to start later in the year. However, sources cautioned that market conditions will affect the size, timing and valuation of the IPO.

It was impossible to determine the amount of money that would be required for the IPO. Sources requested anonymity as the details regarding the IPO preparations were confidential.

Mobileye representatives didn’t respond to inquiries for comment. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and others declined to comment.

Mobileye’s preparations come at a difficult time in the IPO market. The combination of a decline in tech stocks and Russia’s invasion, has caused stock market volatility that forced several prominent firms such as Chobani to put off their plans for going public.

Following a record breaking 2021, in which over $300 billion was raised via flotations, the IPO freeze came as a result.

Dealogic says that so far 21 companies (excluding special purpose acquisitions companies) have been publicly listed on U.S. Exchanges. SoftBank, which owns the chip-design company Arm and Reddit social media platform are two other potential IPO targets.

In 2017, Intel purchased Mobileye at a cost of $15.3 billion. This Israeli company makes driverless cars using a camera-based system that includes adaptive cruise control, lane change assistance and adaptive cruise. Mobileye, which was established in 1999 plans to create its own lidar sensor that will allow it to provide a 3D map of its roads.

Mobileye is a client list that includes BMW, Audi and Volkswagen (ETR,), Nissan (OTC), Honda, and General Motors. This has helped Intel to stand out from the stiff competition of Qualcomm (NASDAQ) Inc.

Mobileye was listed as part of Intel’s larger strategy to help its core business. Gelsinger indicated that Intel will receive the largest share of proceeds and some funds from the sale to help build new Intel chip plants.

Intel stated that it would retain a majority share in Mobileye following the IPO.