SAN FRANCISCO—Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of Intel Corp., said Wednesday (Feb. 29) it has created a $100 million investment fund to help accelerate innovation and the adoption of new technology and services in the automotive industry.
The Intel Capital Connected Car Fund will be invested globally over the next four to five years in hardware, software and services companies developing technologies to promote in-vehicle applications and enable the seamless connection between vehicles and any connected device, including mobile devices and sensors.
"Technology has become an integral component of everyday life, with consumers demanding uninterrupted access to the Internet and the constant flow of information, news, entertainment, and social media," said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president. "Automobiles must be able to provide these same consistent and engaging computing experiences, but in a safe manner."
The announcement is part of Intel’s ongoing work with automakers and in-vehicle infotainment suppliers to help integrate advanced technologies into cars, Intel said.
Ultimately, the connected car will have the intelligence and context awareness to offer the right information, at the right time and in the right way to keep drivers and passengers informed, entertained and productive while maintaining optimal safety, Intel said. Once the car becomes connected, it can also communicate with the cloud, the transportation infrastructure and even other vehicles to provide additional services such as advanced driver assistance and real-time traffic information to optimize the flow of traffic, according to Intel.
"Intel’s experience in developing personal computing, software, security and cloud computing technologies will bring a new level of innovation to the car to enhance the driving experience for both drivers and passengers," said Staci Palmer, general manager of Intel’s Automotive Solutions Division.
Areas of investment for the Intel Capital Connected Car Fund will include technologies that advance the next generation of in-vehicle infotainment, advanced driver assistance systems and seamless mobile connectivity, Intel said. This includes new in-vehicle applications and development tools, next-generation ADAS technologies and multimodal capabilities such as speech recognition, gesture recognition and eye tracking optimized for automobiles, Intel said.
Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini also announced today at an event in Karlsruhe, Germany, the opening of a new global Automotive Innovation and Product Development Center, an academic outreach program focused on IVI and telematics, and expansion of Intel Labs Experience and Interaction Research in automotive.