Intel invests $200 million to strengthen US entrepreneurship

Intel Corporation announced that it has joined President Obama’s Startup America campaign to strengthen entrepreneurship in the United States. As part of this partnership, and in conjunction with its ongoing Invest in America initiative, Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s global investment organization has pledged to invest another $200 million in American technology companies and joined the campaign’s board of advisors.

“Intel is dedicated to creating a culture of investment in the United States that supports American startups and the country’s future competitiveness,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president. “We are pleased to join the Administration in the effort to help new businesses succeed in the United States and consider this partnership an important opportunity to promote education, innovation and entrepreneurship to maintain a globally competitive economy.”

“Startup America” is a White House campaign to celebrate, inspire and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation. This coordinated public/private effort brings together an alliance of the country’s most innovative entrepreneurs, corporations, universities, foundations, and other leaders, working in concert with a wide range of federal agencies to dramatically increase the prevalence and success of American entrepreneurs.

Intel Capital’s new $200 million commitment comes almost a year after the launch of the Invest in America Alliance, an Intel led initiative supported by many leading venture capital firms and corporations aimed at further anchoring the nation's competitiveness on the global stage. As part of the Invest in America Alliance, which was announced in Feb. 2010, Intel committed to invest $200 million over two years in U.S.-based growth-oriented industries through its Invest in America Fund. Intel Capital met this original commitment in less than a year.

The Intel Capital Invest in America portfolio companies are addressing areas on the forefront of technology innovation from distributed energy resource management and cloud platform technologies to educational gaming and dynamic mobile video optimization. As these companies grow and create the next breakthroughs in technology innovation, they serve as a strong example of how private sector efforts can complement state and federal programs to foster fast growing, emerging industries with high job creation potential.

Intel believes a culture of investment is essential to keeping the U.S. on the leading edge of technology innovation and stimulating economic activity. Last week, Intel announced plans to invest $100 million directly into U.S. university research over the next 5 years. Intel Corporation is engaged with a number of university research centers to focus on projects in select technology areas that align with the company’s research agenda including visual computing, mobility, security and embedded solutions.