Intel Corp. said that it had established a $200 million venture capital fund to invest in Chinese technology companies developing hardware, software and services.
"With the establishment of the Intel Capital China Technology Fund, Intel plans to stimulate local technological innovation and the continued growth of China's IT industry," Paul Otellini, Intel President and CEO, said in a statement. "We will invest in Chinese companies to accelerate technology adoption locally and to foster development of innovative technologies with potential for global distribution."
Intel Capital, Intel's venture investment program, focuses on making minority equity investments to grow the Internet economy in support of Intel's strategic interests.
The Intel Capital China Technology Fund will be used to invest in companies that complement Intel's technology initiatives and to further build out the Internet infrastructure in China, according to the world's largest chipmaker. The fund will also provide local businesses with capital to help nurture important technologies and products developed in China, such as cellular communications, consumer broadband apps and chip design, Intel said.
Intel Capital, which has investment managers based in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, made its first strategic investment China in 1998 and since then has invested in close to 50 Chinese companies across nine cities in mainland China and Hong Kong, Intel said. Eleven of these companies have since gone public or have been acquired, including AsiaInfo Holdings Inc., a telecom software supplier; Chinacast Communications Holding Ltd., a service provider for remote education; Sohu.com, an Internet portal; Techfaith Holdings Ltd., an independent cell phone design house; and UTStarcom Inc., a telecom equipment manufacturer.
Some of Intel Capital's current investments in China include BCD Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., an analog power integrated circuit design and manufacturing company; Comlent Holdings Inc., an RF chip maker; HiSoft Technology International Ltd., a software outsourcing company; Maipu Holdings Ltd., a router and data communications company; and Pollex Mobile Holdings, a cellular phone software applications provider.
Intel Capital has invested more than $4 billion in approximately 1,000 companies in more than 30 countries since 1991. Since its inception, about 160 portfolio companies have been acquired by other companies and another 150 have gone public on various exchanges around the world. Last year, Intel Capital invested more than $130 million in about 110 deals with approximately 40 percent of its investments made outside the United States.
