Intel Capital trotted out six new investments Wednesday afternoon, worth an aggregate $31 million in new dollars from the coffers of the world’s largest corporate VC.
Interestingly, half the fundings were in consumer-oriented companies: 51.com, China’s biggest social-networking site; JaJah Inc., a voice-over-Internet-protocol service provider; and Tutor.com, an online tutoring service. The other three were chipmaker Phoenix Microelectronics, application software maker Aternity Inc. and Ceedo Technologies Ltd., which develops software for consumer portable storage devices.
At a small-press conference, Intel Capital president Arvind Sodhani said the new consumer-focused investments do not indicate a new direction for the VC unit, although the fact that all but two of the deals are in companies outside the U.S. highlights its recent shift in geographical focus. Also notable is that Intel Capital led all six of the announced fundings, unusual for a strategic investor, but a pattern Sodhani has been pushing since he took over Intel Capital in 2005.
My favorite: Tutor.com. The company is compelling in part because it’s a dot-com founded in 1998 that survived the Internet meltdown and in part because it helps students do homework by letting them instantly connect online with one of 1,300 tutors around the globe. Intel led a $13.5 million round in the company, which I hope will help Tutor.com survive for at least another dozen years or so, when my six-year-old and rusty algebra skills converge. —Olaf de Senerpont Domis
See Intel Capital press release
Intel Capital president Arvind Sodhani
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The tutor.com deal hearkens back to the irrational exuberance of the late '90's. Many online tutoring companies tried a B2C business model without success (including Tutor.com. It has since changed its model. This is a change back). For an interesting take on this, check this blog:
http://burck.blogspot.com/2007/03/direct-to-consumer-conundrum.html