Silicon Valley News Update
Week Ending May 5, 2017
This week we saw some interesting developments across the Automotive ecosystem and beyond. Some are some key highlights:
- Jeep brand might be sold by Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA). Read More
- Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) market is estimated to reach $600 Million by 2020. Read More
- Apple and Tesla want to see some changes to self-driving regulations. Read More
- Ford and GM prepare for a Silicon Valley-driven paradigm shift. Read More
- How Ford is trying to become more like Read More
- Self-driving technology could boost market for mergers and acquisitions. Read More
- Volkswagen to pay $2.1B in class-action suit over emissions scandal. Read More
- Apple‘s autonomous test vehicle photographed in Silicon Valley. Read More
- Tesla‘s real competitors might be in Silicon Valley, not Detroit. Read More
- Denso, Toshiba to collaborate on IOT-based ADAS, autonomous driving. Read More
- With new funding, Didi Chuxing, an Uber rival, looks beyond China. Read More
- Expert says connected cars need better software security. Read More
- Chinese internet giant, Baidu to share self-drive technology. Read More
HMP Commentary:
Sergio Marchionne, FCA’s CEO has announced potential changes in their strategy that could include selling off the Jeep and Ram brands. Ford is diversifying its business model in exploring driverless vehicles, ride sharing, and investing in automobile software in order to look more like Apple. The state of California has granted autonomous car testing permits to 30 companies which incudes a mix of tech players, startups, automakers and suppliers. Tesla’s biggest competitors are well-funded tech companies. In fact, out of these 30 identified companies, only 11 are well-established automakers.
In this rapidly-evolving and competitive environment, the Global Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) market research report 2017 estimates a TAM of $600M by 2020. The competition to muster self-driving cars could bring new life to the mergers and acquisitions market; there is a need for automakers and tech companies to develop viable autonomous vehicles and have eco-systems that will preserve high levels of investment.
With a new funding round that has brought in $5.5 billion in cash and values the company at about $50 billion, Didi Chuxing a Chinese company, is expecting to be back into competition with Uber while entering into new markets and developing autonomous driving technologies. The internet giant and China’s equivalent to Google, Baidu has been developing its autonomous vehicle system ‘Apollo’ since 2015 and had announced its willingness to share its technology used for self-driving cars.
About Harvest Management Partners LLC:
Harvest Management Partners LLC is a Silicon Valley based investment bank, specializing in company financial assessment, advisory services, plan of action development, strategic marketing, and worldwide negotiation of mergers and acquisitions. Since 2010, Harvest Management Partners has assisted over 40 technology clients within the software, semiconductor, security, IP and automotive electronics sectors. They are also the exclusive Silicon Valley advisors for Fiat Chrysler Automotive (NYSE: FCAU) and TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL). With a combined history of 60+ years of direct operational experience and relationships with venture capitalists and C-Level executives worldwide, Harvest Management Partners is well positioned to provide a comprehensive set of unique services for their clients. For more information, visit www.harvestmp.com