Intel Capital on Tuesday continued its support of social
media and user-generated content, leading a
round of an undisclosed amount as the first professional investor in Punchbowl Software Inc.
Intel has actively supported peer-to-peer computing as a way of
driving continued demand for its chips at even the lowest end of
the food chain, and in taking on Intel as the company's first institutional money,
along with an investment from eCoast Angels, Punchbowl founder Matt
Douglas noted the company's increased recent support of consumer startups.
Punchbowl launched MyPunchbowl.com in January as an event-planning Web site where users can
take advantage of simple tools for planning get-togethers in part based on
feedback from recipients. The site's "Pick a Date"
feature helps groups of people coordinate scheduling, while the
company also recently launched an application called "Party Animal" that instructs people on how to behave at functions.
While the venture arm of the chip giant still does plenty of hard-core
technology infrastructure investing, with recent investments in chipmaker
BridgeCo Inc., virtual telephony software maker RingCentral and storage
technology developer Atempo, Intel also has put a major emphasis on
consumer-driven wireless technology plays. This includes an investment in Action Engine and in the gaming sector, where it made an equally
early-stage bet on K2 Network Inc. leading its first professional investment round. - Clifford Carlsen
See Aug. 29 story from TheDeal.com
See Sept. 24 story from TheDeal.com
See Sept. 5 story from TheDeal.com
See post from Scot Kirsner's Innovation Economy blog
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