Intel Invests $15 Million In Tech Startups

Intel has invested a total of $15 million in three U.S. companies through the chipmaker's Invest in America technology fund.

The recipients included eldercare Web site Caring.com, real estate investment ratings provider SmartZip Analytics, and infrastructure service provider Virtustream. Intel made the investment through Intel Capital, the chipmaker's global investment organization.

"These three investments, ranging from IT infrastructure to digital health and the consumer Internet, reflect the core emphasis Intel Capital places on cultivating the most promising areas of innovation to foster the development of the technologies of tomorrow," Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive VP, said in a statement released Monday.

Caring.com, based in San Mateo, Calif., is a Web site for family caregivers to elderly parents or other relatives. The site offers thousands of original articles, helpful tools, advice from more than 50 experts, and a directory of eldercare services. Caring.com has 1 million unique monthly visitors.

The need for eldercare services is growing with the aging of the Baby Boom generation. Caring.com plans to use the new funding to support development of the site, a local eldercare services directory, and new marketing programs, Intel said.

SmartZip Analytics, headquartered in Pleasanton, Calif., offers independent ratings and analysis on more than 70 million residential properties. The company's research, based on SmartZip's proprietary analytics, is used by homebuyers, investors, and real estate professionals to find, compare, and assess properties to buy, Intel said.

SmartZip plans to use Intel's investments to expand the availability of SmartZip's home investment ratings and reports nationwide.

Finally, Virtustream, based in Washington, D.C., is an infrastructure services firm focused on corporations adopting cloud computing. The company provides strategy, integration, and managed services utilizing virtualization technologies and xStream, which is Virtustream's cloud platform.

The company backs its services through guaranteed service levels and offers resource-based pricing. The Intel investment will be used for continued development of Virtustream's infrastructure and the expansion of the xStream cloud-computing platform.

Intel Capital's $200 million Invest in America technology fund, which is funding the projects, was launched in February. The fund is earmarked for growth-oriented industries to help the nation's economic recovery following the severe recession.