In Intel Capital, Intels global investment organisation, has announced plans to invest approximately $20million, in six Indian companies. The investments are part of Intel Capitals ongoing efforts to support Indian technology innovation and entrepreneurship.
Indian entrepreneurs are increasingly at the forefront of innovation, using technology to change the way we live and do work. Intel Capitals investments in these six companies will help them grow their businesses and push into new markets, said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and executive vice president of Intel.
The six companies that Intel Capital plans to invest in are:
* Saankhya Labs Pvt. Ltd., a fabless semiconductor company;
* Testing Czars, a global independent test engineering and solutions provider for mobile applications;
* Financial Inclusion Network and Operations (FINO), a business and banking technology platform provider with an extensive services delivery channel.
* Whats on India Pvt. Ltd., India's premier electronic programming guide for television;
* enStage, an electronic payment solutions and processing provider;
* DURON Energy Pvt. Ltd., a pioneer in affordable solar power products designed for off-grid use in emerging markets.
Three investments Saankhya Labs, Testing Czars, and FINO have been completed. Intel Capital has signed investment agreements with Whats on India, enStage and DURON Energy. Details of these six investments, including the amount to be invested in each company were not disclosed.
The computing revolution is just starting in India. As PC ownership rises among Indian households, there is growing demand for online services and content. Intel is working closely with our Indian customers to help them meet this demand, said Navin Shenoy, vice president and general manager, Asia-Pacific, at Intel.
Funding for the investments announced by Intel Capital comes from the $250 million Intel Capital India Technology Fund established in December 2005. This fund invests in Indian technology companies to stimulate local innovation and the continued growth of India's information technology industry.
Completed investments: TestingCzars provides a new generation software test products that automate testing of Web, mobile and client/server applications, which are up to five times faster and 10 times more cost productive compared to typical approaches. The company also provides a range of independent testing services for customers in different industries. TestingCzars services and products help companies increase quality and test coverage, while speeding up software release cycles. Intel Capitals investment in TestingCzars will fund further development of its test automation technology.
Saankhya Labs is a supplier of software-defined demodulation solutions (semiconductor and firmware) for universal digital TV, analog TV, radio, and other broadcast media. Saankhya's innovative approach allows for global standards coverage and convergence of multiple components into a single demodulation device. The funding will be used to develop additional product offerings and fund expansion of worldwide marketing and sales operations.
FINO is a business and banking technology platform combined with an extensive services delivery channel. The company enables micro-transaction sourcing and acquisition through 15,000 transaction points in 300 districts across 24 states and has a customer base of over 39 million.
Signed Investment Agreements:covers more than 550 TV channels on the source side and powers EPGs into more than 20 million set-top-boxes and devices on the destination end. The media vertical of the company runs the Whats-On-India channel that is currently available in more than 30 million households across DTH and Cable besides other media assets such as portals, widgets and apps on tablets, mobile and smart-TVs. The investment is aimed at expanding the technology vertical into new and emerging technologies as well as strengthening the companys owned media portfolio.
enStage is an innovative payment solutions and processing provider for the global marketplace. The companys technology enables customers to offer secure payments at the point of sale, on the Internet, or via mobile device or via interactive voice recognition. The funds will be used for expansion of the company.
DURON Energy is a manufacturer and distributor of affordable consumer solar power products designed for off-grid use in emerging markets. Current products from Duron include Duron Pro, Duron Breeze and Duron Mega, all-in one portable solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems designed for use in rural India. Headquartered in Bangalore, the company operates on a market-driven approach to help address the challenge of inadequate access to electricity around the world.
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