Intel invests in Chinese cloud providers, eyes components for wearables

The venture capital arm of Intel has invested in three Chinese cloud providers to take advantage of the country's booming market for the services, and is also looking at backing local firms involved in creating wearable devices.

Intel Capital said Tuesday Feb. 18th it is investing an undisclosed amount in Shanghai Yeapoo Information Technology, Tianjin Zhongke BlueWhale Information Technology and Wuxi China Cloud Technoogy Service.
The chip maker is making the investment as its server business in China has witnessed double-digit growth over the last five years in the country. Cloud computing services have helped fuel the demand, as the nation's companies and municipal governments move toward building services around the Internet and mobile devices.

"The age of cloud computing has come," said Xu Shengyuan, general manager of Intel Capital China, on Tuesday. "We all know that cloud computing is a major opportunity," he added.

Yeapoo, one of the companies Intel has invested in, is helping Chinese businesses build websites specifically for mobile devices. In addition, Yeapoo offers ways for companies to market their online services, and analyze incoming customer data.

BlueWhale provides network storage products, while Wuxi China Cloud is a major cloud infrastructure provider, operating its servers in data centers across the nation.

Outside of cloud computing, Intel Capital is also focused on investing in China's wearables industry. Any investment, however, would be geared more toward component makers, such as those that specialize in making sensors, Xu said.

"We won't necessarily invest in a product a consumer ends up buying," he added. "We are still a technology company, so we are more interested in the technology."