This year marks the 14th edition of Intel Capital's Global Summit. Since its first investment in a Chinese enterprise in 1998, Intel Capital has invested $670 million into over 110 Chinese companies. These investments span various sectors including mobile internet, cloud computing, digital media, digital healthcare, consumer internet, and semiconductor design and production. This year, the list of Intel Capital's investments in China was also revealed today. As the sole investee company from mainland China, CSDN’s inclusion might come as a surprise to some users, given that mobile internet, cloud computing, and big data are the areas widely favored by venture capitalists (VCs) domestically. However, upon closer reflection, it becomes clear that Intel's investment in CSDN is not accidental and carries strategic value for Intel itself.
At the Intel Capital Global Summit, Jiang Tao, Chairman and Founder of CSDN, appeared on-site like other executives of the invested companies. Naturally, we couldn’t miss such an opportunity to learn more details about Intel's investment in CSDN through some conversations.
Investment Talks Began During the Spring Festival and Will Be Completed This Month
Jiang Tao disclosed that CSDN started seeking a new round of financing at the end of last year. Around the Spring Festival, they began relevant discussions with Intel Capital. Given the prior market-level cooperation between CSDN and Intel, the pace of their investment negotiations progressed very quickly. Intel Capital soon confirmed CSDN as the project and both parties will complete this investment work in October, which is this month.
The Three Reasons Intel Chose CSDN
Three factors led Intel to ultimately choose CSDN as an investment target.
Firstly, CSDN and Intel have been collaborating even before the investment, jointly building an ISN community. Intel has been trying to build an ecosystem, and with CSDN boasting 14 million developers, the two parties collaborate across various dimensions.
Secondly, both Intel and CSDN are feeling the changes in the entire industry. Terminals are becoming increasingly mobile, and more smart devices are emerging. Both Intel and CSDN need to grasp the market.
Lastly, Intel hopes to utilize the CSDN platform, relying on its vast number of users, to promote Intel software tools and development kits to developers and enterprises, thereby achieving the prosperity of the ecosystem.
More Than Just a Simple Capital Investment
In fact, CSDN’s financing round involves more than just Intel as a VC participant. However, Intel plays a role far beyond simple financial investment; it primarily involves resource input.
Intel's strategic goal is to establish a comprehensive large-scale developer community and promote the Intel software development platform within it, thereby cultivating professional talent and driving the development of the industry ecosystem. Intel will collaborate with CSDN to promote the Intel Collaboration Service, operate the Intel Developer Zone and Intel Software College, and share resources including software development toolkits (SDK) regarding future trends such as OpenStack and HTML5, ensuring that developers remain synchronized with the innovations of the Intel software development platform. Intel will also work with CSDN to promote cross-platform applications, helping developers achieve more software innovation and application through the construction of cross-platform instant messaging tools.
Especially in OpenStack and Hadoop, Intel will engage in deep cooperation with CSDN. Intel hopes to interact with Chinese developers through the CSDN platform.
Events like the Intel Capital Global Summit serve merely as platforms for Intel Capital to help invested companies exchange ideas. Intel will also assist CSDN in communicating and cooperating with leading global technology companies, aiming for mutual benefit.
Preliminary Construction for Wearable Devices
Wearable devices are currently the darlings of the industry. However, among the newly announced investment lists by Intel, there is no presence of any wearable device manufacturer. This does not mean that Intel is indifferent or hesitant about wearable devices. In its cooperation with CSDN, Intel is dedicated to introducing wearable device development.
Firstly, on the hardware platform side, Intel launched the Quark platform during the IDF in September. This platform, with power consumption lower than Atom, is a perfect match for wearable devices. Secondly, due to the current industrial landscape, wearable devices are still in the emerging stage, so Intel will not rashly make investments in hardware. Thirdly, through its collaboration with CSDN, Intel is committed to promoting the development of the wearable device ecosystem, attracting and cultivating a large number of talents for related developments, and enhancing the usability of devices.
Regarding wearable devices, Intel has clearly begun forward-looking research and practical actions. Through CSDN, Intel can better improve the domestic device industry chain and help the rapid development of wearable devices.