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Intel Capital puts $28 million into Chinese wearable tech startups

First input from $100 million China Smart Device Innovation Fund

Intel Capital puts $28 million into Chinese wearable tech startups

Part of chipmaker Intel's family of tech companies, Intel Capital has invested $28 million in funding to five Chinese wearable tech and Internet of Things firms.

These are the first businesses to benefit from Intel's China Smart Device Innovation Fund, which has put aside $100 million to foster the growth of smart devices, software and components across the region.

Games, security and smartwatches

This first-round funding has been awarded to five different companies:

  • Iris-recognition developer EyeSmart Technology
  • Smartwatch firm Guangdong Appscomm Digital Technology
  • Shanghai Ailiao Information Technology, which is working on communication protocols and technology for smartphone and tablet gaming, and
  • LeWa Technology ,which is creating a customised version of the Android operating system for connected devices.

This focus on China's wearable tech ecosystem comes alongside the launch of Intel's Smart Devices Innovation Center in Shenzhen, and Intel's Capital president Arvind Sodhani expressed a continued interest in backing more wearable tech and IoT companies over the next three years.

The news also follows from Lenovo's decision to spin out a separate Chinese-based company to work on wearables, and its announcement of Google Glass rival New Glass, which will also be launched first in China. 

Via PE Hub


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