PC chipmaker Intel (News - Alert) seems to have seen the future and concluded that it might not be where the company’s past fortune was found. Hence, the company announced a series of new investments this week in mobile technologies, drones and virtual reality, which may well secure its ongoing success.
Intel Capital (News - Alert), the company’s global investment arm, announced at the Intel Capital Global Summit some new investments in 16 technology companies, covering a broad spectrum of innovative technologies. The total invested is about $62 million.
"Intel Capital invests in the technology continuum that runs from wearables and the Internet of Things to big data analytics – and everything in between, including silicon, smart devices, PCs, the cloud and datacenters," said Arvind Sodhani (News - Alert), president of Intel Capital and Intel EVP. "We are focused on helping innovative companies develop across this technology ecosystem, and we expect to invest a total of $355 million this year." The announcement came at the opening of the 15th annual Summit in Huntington Beach, Calif.
The latest funding highlighted Intel's recent focus on wearables, eye-tracking technology and mobile, as the world's largest chipmaker works to expand its business beyond PCs, which have lost appeal as more consumers opt for smartphones and tablets, CNET reported. “Intel makes the vast majority of its profits from PC and data-center chips, so now needs to find new places to grow,” the report said.
Intel is investing a wide and varied number of technologies and areas, including new devices and wearable computing; mobility and wireless; Advancing Microprocessor and SoC (System on a Chip) Development; and Big Data and Cloud Infrastructure.
According to Intel, the founders of the newest portfolio companies run the gamut from “13-year-old Shubham Banerjee, who has invented low-cost Braille printers for the blind using Legos and Intel Edison chips; to Sundari Mitra, a 25-year semiconductor industry veteran who is now running her second startup; to Earnest Earon, a rocket scientist whose new company uses unmanned aircraft and cloud-based software to perform data analytics for agricultural, emergency response and other uses.”
The company also announced new funding for Eyefluence, which develops eye-tracking technology used for virtual reality. In October, Intel Capital announced funding for EyeSmart, which makes iris-recognition technologies in China.
Edited by Maurice Nagle