Intel has been preparing in recent months for an entry into the weird and wonderful world of autonomous driving.

According to EE Times, Ken Caviasca, Intel’s vice president and general manager,  his outfit had shedloads of tech ready and more leg room to scale its business than Qualcomm/NXP.

Kathy Winter, Intel vice president and general manager of Automated Driving Solutions, said Intel wants to lead in all three facets of the highly automated vehicle platform: In-vehicle computing, connectivity and data center. Intel is setting its sights high on an “end-to-end” play in the auto industry.

Qualcomm on the other hand wants to buy its way into the market but Intel is acquiring smaller companies whose technologies are diverse but deemed essential to the future of connected and highly automated vehicles.

Brace yourself Winter is coming

Intel is pinning its hopes on an important hire – Kathy Winter. She served as vice president, software & services, automated driving at Delphi Electronics & Safety before becoming a Chipzilla minion in August.

Winter organised the Delphi cross-country autonomous drive in an Audi Q5 outfitted with Delphi self-driving technology in 2015. This was touted as the first and longest drive by an autonomous vehicle in the United States, covering 3,400 miles, 99 percent of the time in self-driving mode.

Caviasca said, “Kathy can help us go faster" which makes her the equivalant of putting on spoilers and two red lines down the side of the vehicle to speed it up.