Dell tries its hand at venture capital

Taking a page out of the Sun Microsystems play book, Dell announced the

formation of a venture capital unit that will provide funds and equipment to

Internet and other start-ups.

The Dell VC Direct division will team with traditional venture capital firms

to provide access to Dell products and Internet technology, resources and

services to startup businesses. Last year, Sun Microsystems started a $300

million venture capital fund to finance start-ups using its Internet servers.

In support of the move, Dell also launched two new Internet server systems.

The PowerEdge 1400 (starting at $1,700) server is aimed at small and medium-size

businesses. The more powerful PowerApp.BIG-IP server is aimed at busy e-commerce

sites and starts at $30,000.