The company's new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, announced the reversal of policy on the Q1 earnings call, saying it would monetise the existing portfolio.
Photo credit: Daniel Chetroni
Intel has reversed its plan to spin out its corporate venture arm, Intel Capital.
The US chipmaker’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan said during its Q1 earnings call on Thursday that the unit would remain in-house, rowing back on the company’s previous announcement, which was made under his predecessor.
“We have made the decision not to spin off Intel Capital, but to work with the team to monetise our existing portfolio, while being more selective on new investments,” Tan said on the call.
Intel had previously planned to make the unit an independent fund which would be free to raise funding from other investors.
The news follows a period of hardship for the company, which reported an $18.8bn net loss in the 2024 financial year. In recent years it has failed to establish itself in the growing AI chip design market against rivals such as Nvidia and Samsung. Its manufacturing of high-end chips, similarly, has not kept up with Taiwanese rival TSMC.
In the Q1 earnings call, Intel reported an $800m net loss. It referred to economic difficulties caused by the Trump administration’s tariffs and their impact on the semiconductor industry, and stated plans to cut management roles in an attempt to improve efficiency.
Intel Capital has remained a consistent investor since the January announcement of the spin-off plans. In February, it took part in eight deals, including the $170m series C raise for Quantum Machines, an Israeli startup that makes control systems for quantum computing processors. Last month, it took part in the $40m series B funding round for Bria, an Israeli image-generation software provider.
The CVC unit was launched 34 years ago, making it one of the oldest corporate venture capital units. It primarily invests in IT startups, including AI, enterprise software and cybersecurity, as well as the parent company’s core sector of semiconductors.
