Intel Capital has announced it has invested $60m (£45.6m) in 15 startups, with a focus around big data, including AI, machine learning and robotics.
The investments mean Intel has invested a mammoth $566m (£430m) this year so far, as it transitions to become a data-led organisation.
“The world is undergoing a data explosion,” Wendell Brooks, Intel SVP and president of Intel Capital, said in a statement. “By 2020, every autonomous vehicle on the road will create 4 TB of data per day.
“A million self-driving cars will create the same amount of data every day as 3 billion people. As Intel transitions to a data company, Intel Capital is actively investing in startups across the technology spectrum that can help expand the data ecosystem and pathfind important new technologies.”
The standout businesses funded by Intel Capital include Bossa Nova Robotics, which is developing a retail-focused robot that can autonomously stack shelves, keeping track of stock as it goes, and Chinese robotics firm Horizon, which develops robot brains for 1000 different devices using AI and machine learning.
Other notable automation and robotics companies benefitting from Intel’s cash injection include 3D visualisation platform Echo Pixel, Japanese deep learning platform LeapMind, AdHawk Microsystems, which focuses on human-computer interaction using an eye tracking system, and Trace, a sports AI startup that uses sensors to create performance insights and video highlights.
Just last year, Intel Capital was considering the move to sell off all of its startup investments and close down the funding arm of its business. however, it thankfully decided against the action and instead, restructured the way it operates. Intel’s new business focus is on data and investing in AI and robotics businesses clearly demonstrates its commitment to the field.