NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- At Intel Capital Global Summit this week, more than 600 entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and tech industry leaders are gathered to shape the future of technology.
- Today’s funding news sets a record for investments announced at the Global Summit, now in its 19th year, and further demonstrates Intel’s commitment to building the future.
- Speakers at the annual event include the CEOs of Intel and Cadence Design Systems; co-founders of Pinterest and Red Hat; former heads of NORAD and FCC.
PHOENIX — (BUSINESS WIRE) — April 1, 2019 — Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s global investment organization, announced today at the Intel Capital Global Summit new investments totaling $117 million in 14 disruptive technology startups.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190401005800/en/
Leaders from the 14 companies joining the Intel Capital portfolio pose with Intel Capital President Wendell Brooks at the Arizona Biltmore as the 19th annual Intel Capital Global Summit kicks off. The 2019 Intel Capital Global Summit runs April 1-3 in Phoenix. The annual event is the venture industry’s premier technology networking gathering. (Credit: Intel Corporation)
The 14 companies joining Intel Capital’s portfolio are creating powerful artificial intelligence (AI) platforms; new ways to see and analyze materials for the built world and our bodies; more efficient and greener manufacturing technologies; and disruptive new approaches to chip design.
“Intel has driven disruption for the last 50 years, changing the way we live by making compute ubiquitous. Intel Capital is continuing that legacy of disruption with these investments,” said Wendell Brooks, Intel senior vice president and president of Intel Capital. “These companies are shifting the way we think about artificial intelligence, communications, manufacturing and health care – areas that will become increasingly essential in coming years as the linchpins of a smarter, more connected society.”
The investments extend Intel Capital’s recent strategy of taking larger, more strategic positions in portfolio startups. Each year, Intel Capital puts $300 million to $500 million into innovative companies across a wide range of emerging technologies making the impossible possible.
“Our continued goal is to leverage the global resources and expertise of the world’s greatest engineering company, and its ecosystem of customers and partners, to help these founders accelerate growth and innovation,” Brooks said.
Furthering its commitment to diversity and inclusion, Intel Capital and Intel Global Diversity and Inclusion also announced a sponsorship of HBCUvc*, a nonprofit that trains students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) about venture capital and technology entrepreneurship. HBCUvc provides students skills training, mentorship and the chance to build professional relationships with seasoned investors and entrepreneurs. Its Venture Capital Clinic empowers student fellows to put what they’ve learned into practice and fuel high-growth entrepreneurship on campus. Intel Capital and Intel will partner with HBCUvc to provide mentoring, training and real-world experiences.
The Intel Capital Global Summit convenes more than 600 entrepreneurs, venture investors and Global 2000 business leaders for three days of networking, company-building and inspiration. This year’s lineup of speakers includes Robert Swan, Intel CEO; Reed Hundt, Coalition for Green Capital* CEO and former FCC chairman; Paul Sciarra, Pinterest* co-founder and Joby Aviation* executive chairman; Aicha Evans, Zoox* CEO; Lip-Bu Tan, Cadence Design Systems CEO; Bob Young, Red Hat* co-founder; and General Lori Robinson (retired), commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
More details on Intel Capital’s new investments in 14 disruptive startups:
Disrupting Artificial Intelligence
Cloudpick Limited* (Shanghai, China) is a smart retail technology provider. With proprietary computer vision, deep learning, sensor fusion and edge computing technologies, Cloudpick enables highly digitized, intelligent, cashier-free stores with grab-and-go shopping experiences. Cloudpick has collaborated with e-commerce companies, traditional retailers and payment partners worldwide to upgrade many brick-and-mortar stores’ shopping experiences.
SambaNova Systems* (Palo Alto, California, U.S.) is a rapidly growing Silicon Valley-based company that is building the industry’s most advanced systems platform to run AI applications from the data center to the edge. Founded by industry pioneers and experts in systems hardware and software design from Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Stanford University, SambaNova Systems’ mission is to bring AI innovations discovered in deep research to enterprises and organizations in all industries around the world, creating AI for everyone, everywhere.
Untether
AI* (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is developing ultra-efficient,
high-performance AI chips that will be the foundation for the next wave
of innovation in AI. Untether AI has invented an entirely new type of
chip architecture that is specifically designed for neural net inference
by eliminating bottlenecks in data movement. This unique architecture
moves data 1,000 times faster than traditional architectures, resulting
in extreme performance and efficiency. The company was founded by a team
of scientists, engineers and experienced entrepreneurs who have
successfully brought to market more than 1 billion chips.
