intel announced Tuesday that it plans to spin off its venture capital arm, Intel Capital, into an independent company, the latest in a series of structural changes announced by the chipmaker.
Intel said it would transform Intel Capital, which has $5 billion in assets, into a standalone fund, allowing it to raise money from outside investors. Until now, this venture arm has been fully funded by Intel.
Intel is coming off its worst year on the stock market since it went public in 1971, after a series of missteps and a significant loss of market share. The company is spending millions to build state-of-the-art chip factories, cutting costs and simplifying its operations while trying to revitalize its PC chip sector.
In December, Intel fired Pat Gelsinger as CEO after a controversial four-year term. He was replaced by two interim co-CEOs, David Zinsner and Michelle Holthaus.
Under Mr. Gelsinger, Intel has sold or downsized a number of small divisions over the past two years and laid off employees last year as part of a cost-cutting plan.
Intel is currently spinning off Altera, a company that specializes in simple chips called FPGAs, with plans to take it public. also owns a majority mobile eyean Israeli-based manufacturer of self-driving parts and software. Last year, Intel took several steps toward making its foundry business an independent division, including appointing a board of directors.
Intel Capital employees will remain with the independent investment firm in the second half of 2025, the company said in an announcement Tuesday. Representatives declined to comment on specific executives’ plans. Intel Capital’s name may also change.
Intel Capital was founded in 1991, an unusual venture arm of a large company at the time.
Since then, that model has been replicated across Silicon Valley and in other industries, with companies like: google, microsoft, sales force, unilever Then BMW got into the business. comcastThe owners of CNBC’s parent company, NBCUniversal, founded Comcast Ventures in 1999.
Intel was an early adopter of corporate venture capital, but it wasn’t the first technology company to spin out an investment arm. In 2011, SAP SAP Ventures became an independent company, later named Sapphire Ventures.
Corporate venture capital peaked in 2021, with companies in the sector raising $156 billion and participating in nearly 3,800 deals, according to the National Venture Capital Association. While that was a year in which the broader VC market reached record levels, the number of investments in startups has since declined significantly, largely due to rising interest rates that began to rise in 2022.
Attention: Intel plans to list chip subsidiary Altera
