Intel, Microsoft to Invest in India

Intel Chairman Craig Barrett said today that the company will invest over $1 billion over the next five years to expand its operations in India. The investment would also include a $250 million venture-capital fund that Intel has created for investing in Indian companies, as reported in today’s Wall Street Journal.

Intel, the world’s largest maker of computer chips, will invest $800 million to expand its research and development center in Bangalore, Barrett said.

Barrett also said Intel is in talks with the Indian government about building a chip-making facility in the country: “We are still in discussion with the government on the possibility of manufacturing in India.”

Meanwhile, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is due to arrive in India tomorrow, as reported by Associated Press.

This will be Gates’ fourth visit. He’ll meet with senior Indian officials, business leaders and programmers to detail Microsoft’s plans to invest $400 million in India in the coming years.

Gates is reportedly concerned that a June 2005 survey of Indian companies by Network Magazine found that nearly 40 percent use Linux, not Windows, to run their servers.

–David Rosenbaum