Intel reverses course; won’t spin out Intel Capital
Semiconductor giant Intel won’t spin out its venture arm, Intel Capital, after all.
Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the company has reversed its decision to spin out its 34-year-old venture arm on Intel’s Thursday Q1 earnings call. Instead, the firm will remain internal and continue to invest with Intel’s interests in mind.
“We have made the decision not to spin off Intel Capital, but to work with the team to monetize our existing portfolio, while being more selective on new investments that are support the strategy we need to get our balance sheet healthy and start the process of deleveraging this year,” Tan said on the call.
This is a stark reversal to Intel Capital’s plans. Intel Capital announced in January 2025 that after 34 years the firm was going to strike out on its own. Shortly after, Intel Capital vice president and senior managing director, Mark Rostick, told TechCrunch that the firm had considered spinning out multiple times over the years.
Talks about spinning out got more serious in 2024 — and had support from Intel’s former CEO Pat Gelsinger. The original plan was to become independent, while keeping Intel on as an investor at partner, by the third quarter of this year.
“We thought our track record merited attention from outside investors,” Rostick said in February. “We had done really well, even while, you know, a lot of the venture industry hasn’t been able to realize exits, we’d had some success doing that, so we felt like we could position ourselves as a bit of an outlier there.”
TechCrunch will update this story as we get more information.
