Ram sounded one note of optimism through all the hitches. Among other funding sources, Holbrooks has contacted Intel Venture Capital, the investment arm of Intel Corp. that Ram and the chip giant say is less demanding than one might expect when it comes to exclusivity agreements with the companies it funds. Ram says it hasn't heard back from Intel Capital on the Holbrooks proposal, but one Intel executive who has a voice in Intel Capital's investments says machinery such as the edge grip system could be a fit. As wafers get bigger, they get heavier, and we may need different handling systems. Shroff notes that Intel Capital's motivations vary somewhat from a traditional funding source.
Money is a second element.
If the market grows we will get a fair return on our investments by selling more products. Attracting funding from a large semiconductor source such as Intel can sometimes pave a semiconductor startup's way to the wallets of the more difficult VC community. One such beneficiary of Intel Capital's funding was Sycon Design, a provider of custom IC placement and routing software tools. We found interest from the strategic investors. This was my strategy and it was very successful.