IAA aims at goading VCs to invest money

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: Invest in America Alliance, launched a week ago, is partly aimed at goading venture capitalists to invest money they have been sitting on, according to Keith Larson, a vice-president of Intel Capital. 

Intel Capital, one of 25 venture capitalists (VCs) in the new alliance, said that Invest in America Alliance will invest $3.5 billion in startups over the next 2 years – including $200 million from a new Intel Capital Invest in America Technology Fund.

In 2009, venture investments had dropped by 37 per cent in terms of dollars and declined by 30 per cent in the number of deals, compared to 2008, according to figures released in January 2010 by the National Venture Capital Association.

Keith Larson said that Intel was exploring opportunities in full wafer test, chip stacking, educational PCs, solid-state lighting, and smart grids.

According to industry analysts, it is hard to tell whether Intel’s $200-million Invest in America Technology Fund represents a heightened investment. In 2009, Intel had invested $327 million in startups – with about half of those companies located in the United States.