May 10, 2007
Intel gnaws on dog and bone
While Intel was launching its Centrino Duo and Pro platforms on Wednesday and showing off colourful laptops, its venture capital arm was announcing an investment that revealed part of its strategy for smaller devices.
Intel Capital said it was leading a 3rd round $15m funding of Jajah, the Silicon Valley-based internet phone company with more than 2m users.
This was a little different from its normal VC funding, as the deal also included Jajah gaining access to certain Voice over IP patents earned by Intel, relating to software phones running on a computer.
Up to now, Jajah has based its business on using VoIP inside the network. Users type in their number on its website and the number they want to call and then the landline-based phones ring at either end as regular telephone companies complete the call, removing the need for a Skype-type headphone/microphone/computer software setup.
"We believe computers will become phones and phones will become computers." Trevor Healy, Jajah’s new chief executive told me, explaining an expansion of its strategy.
That is something Intel would like to believe as well. It has been like a dog with a bone when it comes to dog-and-bone devices. It finally gave up on mobile phone chips last year, selling its business to Marvell after years of failing to penetrate the market significantly.
Now it may be trying to make that call again, with its low-powered Silverthorne chip embedded in Mobile Internet Devices (Mids) and using software like Jajah’s.
