Intel's strategic investing arm managed to survive thanks to its financial returns
Started in 1991, Intel Capital is by far the longest surviving “corporate” venture capital organisation and the most active in Silicon Valley.
“We have the classic objective of balancing strategic needs for the company as well as financial returns. We existed this long because we have generated quite positive financial returns for the company… We invest off the balance sheet, we don’t have a fund type structure. But in any given year we invest hundreds of millions of dollars,” explains Intel Capital’s cleantech leader Steve Eichenlaub, speaking at the Intel Technology Summit yesterday in San Francisco.
Intel Capital is “round” agnostic – although prefers investing in B and C rounds – and its 100 or so investment professionals will usually poor around $300 million to $400 million a year, in all stages (seed to publicly traded) of a company’s evolution, worldwide.
Think of Intel Capital as a large venture capital organisation inside of a large publicly traded corporation. “In some ways we kind of do an entire venture capital fund every year!,” added Eichenlaub.
Intel Capital invests in these 7 technology markets, cleantech being the newest one
One of the “value-add” that Intel Capital brings to its portfolio companies is its vast network of relationships with large customers, through Tech Days, a one-day event hosted 60 to 70 times a year at a partner location, like Microsoft, BT, Huawei, BMW,Comcast…
Here’s a video excerpt of Eichenlaub’s overview of Intel Capital:
Posted by TechPulse 360 
The all-electric luxury sedan – comparable to a BMW 3-series or a Mercedes C-class – will cost half the price of Tesla’s sporty Roadster, at around $50,000 (after a federal tax credit) when it goes on sale in 2 years; allowing time for more rigorous testing before it actually hits the road.
