Intel Offers $100 Million Funding for New Car Technologies
Intel has reserved $100 million for investments in hardware, software and services companies that are focused on in-vehicle applications.
The company said that it plans on spending the money over the next four to five years to promote the "seamless connection between vehicles and any connected device, including mobile devices and sensors." Intel is the first IT company to offer an investment fund that is dedicated to automotive applications.
"Technology has become an integral component of everyday life, with consumers demanding uninterrupted access to the Internet and the constant flow of information, news, entertainment, and social media," said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president, in a prepared statement. "Automobiles must be able to provide these same consistent and engaging computing experiences, but in a safe manner."
According to Intel, the funding for new technologies goes hand in hand with its efforts to work with automakers and in-vehicle infotainment companies to come up with sophisticated in-car applications. Needless to say, Intel isn't giving away welfare. The company has been trying to establish itself as a chip supplier for the automotive industry, but has not been able to dent the dominant position of chip companies such as Freescale so far. Intel's business plan expects increasing chip sales every year and if investments in startups can help open the door for Intel, those $100 million may be well invested money.
Check out Intel's vision for the connected car of the future.
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"Intel's business plan expects increasing chip sales every year!"Reply
This is a problem..
We all know that an insatiable appetite leads to self destruction!
The constant growth syndrome is what causes many companies to over-expend, over -stretch, lose focus and eventually implode on the empty core it has produced. Now a company the size and breadth of Intel, with its budget, will have to grow to an enormous size before this happens (if it happens), but the resulting Implosion would be immense.
The Donut theory, The bigger the Donut- the Bigger the Hole in the Middle! -
mobrocket MoriconReply
I think Intel sees the future and the PC in its current form is not it...
i think they are just trying to find some other revenue streams, just like MSFT -
fuzzion Dear Intel, I do not want my car's ECU to be connected to the web. I really can't afford another another anti virus. Thank you.Reply -
zachusaman stupid of them, what they should do instead is invest that money into companies looking for better energy storage or generation solutions... because electric cars are being stalled by batteries being crap and no way to power devices for a long time.Reply -
jaber2 That is very cheap, a car patten could last forever and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in lifetime.Reply -
victorious 3930k fuzzionDear Intel, I do not want my car's ECU to be connected to the web. I really can't afford another another anti virus. Thank you.Reply
Cue Intel Security Essentials (Car version) -
teddymines I am concerned with privacy and being monitored by police and others. Not to mention the ability for your car to be hacked by a sensor placed near your car's path. The information flow, whether initiated by the driver or not, will leave a pretty clear breadcrumb trail.Reply -
capt_taco To be perfectly clear - this does not sound like $100M that they are just giving away or spending on R&D. More like $100M that they're using to buy software startups in the automotive space, whose software they will inevitably package with Intel processors.Reply
I would also expect a good deal of this money to be spent buying up patents, which will work to no one's advantage except Intel's by giving it the ability to sue others for licensing fees with every new car sold. -
maxinexus cars with a small nuclear reactor would do the trick but don't sell them in the middle eastReply -
Partizan92 fuzzionDear Intel, I do not want my car's ECU to be connected to the web. I really can't afford another another anti virus. Thank you.Reply
Imagine that you're going through a twisty road with your car pushing it to limits.. now add to that your car uses an electric steering system which is connected to the ECU.. and some a***ole through a Wifi hotspot using a Galaxy turns of the electric steering XD that would be fun