Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of US-based chipmaker Intel Corp. is planning to invest in Indian startups working on the Internet of Things (IoT) in 2015.
Internet of Things startups refer to young companies with products that allow data to be transferred across a network without “human-to-human” or “human to computer” interactions.
Kumud Srinivasan, India president of Intel said, “In India, as IoT takes off, I expect we will see more startup activity, and hence more potential for investment in India.”
According to Srinivasan, there is no funding target. If technology is of interest and company believes that it will help us advance our road maps, then we’ll invest.
Last year, Intel Capital invested $355 Mn across 123 companies globally. In India, according to reports, the venture fund invested $62 Mn in 2014, across 16 companies which includes Snapdeal.com, Yatra.com, Healthcart.com, Policybazaar.com, Indiamart.com and Happiest Minds, among others.
As per the latest report by Nasscom and Zinnov Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd, India is set to increase the tech startups base to 11,500 from 3,000 by 2020.
Report also suggests that IoT is expected to connect 28 billion devices to the Internet by 2020, compared with one billion users accessing the Internet through personal computers or two billion users accessing it via phones and tablets.
