As he did at last year's CEO Summit, Intel Capital president Arvind Sodhani showed off a handful of new investments made by the world's largest corporate venture capital arm.
Eight startups got an aggregate $60 million in funding from the Intel Corp. [INTC] division, and in most cases, Intel Capital led the rounds. They were: online education startup Vriti Infocom; online retailer Internet Mall; security starup Accertify; workforce management software maker TOA Technologies; smart grid software maker Grid Net; online health startup HealthiNation; Latin American social networking site Vostu; and online video company Veoh Networks (for a more detailed look at Veoh's round, see this post).
As Sodhani noted in his keynote speech earlier in the day, Intel Capital is moving full steam ahead with its investment strategy. At the 2007 CEO Summit, it unveiled six deals worth a total of $31 million. But that doesn't mean that there isn't any belt tightening going on at Intel Capital. For the first time, the unit turned to corporate sponsors to help cover the cost of the meeting. Deloitte and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher were the premium sponsors, with BBVA SA, Capgemini, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Needham & Co., NYSE Euronext and Sentient also on the roster.
During a press conference, I asked Sodhani how Intel Capital might be changing its investment strategy in light of economic conditions, and whether the addition of sponsors was a reflection of the downturn.
"Our numbers in 2008 and 2009 will not be very dissimilar than in previous years," he said of Intel Capital's investments. "That's what separates us from other investors."
As for the sponsors, he said "we spend a lot of money" on events like the CEO Summit. This year's meeting was particularly expensive because of the venue (the fancy Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco) and the increased number of attendees, another Intel executive said.
"We are all under cost pressures," Sodhani added. "We are delighted to have sponsors to help us defray some of the costs of these events." -- Olaf de Senerpont Domis
See June 3 post on Sodhani keynote from Tech Confidential
See June 3 post on Veoh's funding round from Tech Confidential
See May 2007 post on last year's CEO Summit from Tech Confidential
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