Intel Capital, the corporate venturing arm of US-based semiconductor maker Intel, launched a $125m diversity fund at a press conference yesterday that will invest in startups run by women and minorities.
Lisa Lambert, managing director and vice-president of Intel Capital, will lead the fund. Lambert previously spoke about the standing of women in corporate venturing and technology at the GCV Symposium earlier this month.
She was quick to underline that this is not a social programme but that Intel expects to have a high return on investment. The fund will cover a broad range of industries, and invest over the next five years in both early and late stage companies.
Currently, only 15% of funded startups in the US have a woman on their executive board, while those with a female chief executive represent a mere 3%.
The statistics are even more dire when it comes to certain ethnic minorities: startups founded by African Americans or Latin Americans make up less than 1%. Indeed, almost all founders are Caucasian or Asian.
Lambert insisted that this is not a pipeline issue, and the need to recognise these startups is made even more important by the fact that, by 2023, the US will be a country where minorities make up the majority of the population.
Already, African Americans spend 30% more on consumer goods than any other group.
Intel Capital has already identified a potential 100 startups in its network that could receive funding from the new fund. The fund has already backed media and e-commerce platform Brit + Co, electronic health record platform CareCloud, smart cup maker Mark One, and cybersecurity company Venafi.
Lambert said: “We are proud to take a leading role toward broader participation in technology entrepreneurship and employment. With this new fund, Intel Capital is committed to investing in the best talent from a myriad of backgrounds to cultivate innovations that serve the needs of a diverse public.”
– Image courtesy of Intel Capital