Intel Capital has launched a $125m fund to support technology startups run by women and minority entrepreneurs.
The fund, dubbed the Intel Capital Diversity Fund, will be managed by Intel Capital managing director and vice president Lisa Lambert.
It will complement Intel’s $300m Diversity in Technology Initiative, unveiled earlier this year, in which the company pledged to bring its US workforce to full representation of women and underrepresented minorities by 2020.
The Intel Capital Diversity Fund’s first four portfolio companies include Brit + Co, CareCloud, Mark One, and Venafi. It will also invest in a range of industries, including the Internet of Things, cloud computing and cybersecurity.
Lambert said: "With this new fund, Intel Capital is committed to investing in the best talent from a myriad of backgrounds to cultivate brilliant innovations that serve the needs of a diverse public."
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. "Our goal with this new fund is to meaningfully support a technology startup workforce more reflective of society, and ultimately to benefit Intel and the broader economy through its success."
Intel employs 51,118 people in the US, of which 24% are women. 31% of employees are Asian followed by Hispanic or Latino with 8%, and African American with 4%.
