Intel invests in India

By Steve Malone

Posted on 6 Dec 2005 at 10:43

Chip giant Intel is setting up a $250 million venture capital fund that is earmarked for investment in India.

The company says that it expects that it will be able to provide investment capital on a number of new projects in the subcontinent, in areas such as cellular communications, broadband applications and wireless technologies.

The fund is not only looking to provide seed money for local companies, which are behind the rapid expansion of the countries domestic IT industry, but is also looking to fund Indian companies that are looking to expand their markets overseas.

The company's investment arm, Intel Capital has already made a number of contributions to the Indian economy. Its first strategic investment in India was in 1998. Since then it has invested in more than 40 Indian companies across seven cities.

Investing in India is likely to prove less controversial than its investments in that other booming Asian economy, China. In June of this year, Intel announced a similar $200 million venture capital fund in the People's Republic that drew the fire of human rights activists who pointed out that the authorities were using leading edge technologies to crack down on dissent.