Report: Intel plans to make the Core i7 the brains behind self-driving cars

Sixteen years ago, a small low-power chip startup called Transmeta forced Intel to retool its desktop PC processors to meet the demands of notebooks. Today, Intel is adapting its PC processors to an entirely new market: self-driving cars. Intel has joined forces with Mobileye--the former brains behind Tesla Motors' autopilot system--and auto parts maker Delphi, according to several reports. Specifically, Intel plans to put a Core i7 inside self-driving cars as the primary controller, apparently, in conjunction with the Mobileye EyeQ chips, according to The New York Times. Later Intel will use a "more powerful and unnamed processor to be unveiled in a few weeks"--presumably at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.