SAN FRANCISCO: Intel Corp has unveiled a new platform to make it easier for companies to create internet-connected smart products using its chips, security and software. Intel's platform is like a set of building blocks based on the chipmaker's components and software for companies to create smart, connected devices, Doug Davis, head of Intel's Internet of Things business, said at a launch event in San Francisco. It also aims to make it easier to connect to data centers in order analyze data collected from devices' sensors. "We're creating compute capability in end-point devices that scale from our highest performance Xeon processor to the Quark family of products," Davis said, referring to Intel's chips. After moving slowly in recent years to adapt its personal computer chips for smartphones and tablets, Intel is determined to make sure it is on the leading edge of future computing trends, industry experts and company executives have said. Adding processors, sensors and web connectivity to devices from soccer balls to industrial machinery, an emerging trend dubbed the Internet of Things, has become a new battleground for Intel, rival Qualcomm and other technology companies. The install base of wireless gadgets will more than double by the end of the decade, with most of the growth coming from smart devices other than PCs and smartphones, according to market research firm ABI Research. Intel's Internet of Things Group had $530 million in revenue in the September quarter. That accounted for just 4% of Intel's total revenue in the quarter, but it grew 14% over the previous year, which was faster than the company's PC business. Dell, SAP, Tata Consultancy, Accenture and other companies are working with the new reference model, Davis said.
TEL AVIV: Israel's finance and economy ministries have approved a plan by Intel to invest $6 billion in the upgrade of its chip manufacturing plant, in what would be the largest single investment by a foreign company in the country. Intel will receive a government grant of $300 million over five years and will be eligible to pay a corporate tax rate of only 5% for a 10-year period, the ministries said. The US chip giant plans to hire close to 1,000 more workers at the plant in the southern town of Kiryat Gat by 2023, in addition to the 2,500 that already work there. "Intel's investment is a strategic asset for Israel's industry," Finance Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement. "This is the biggest investment by a foreign company ever in Israel and is further proof that Israel is at the forefront of technology and innovation." Intel submitted the investment plan in May and it is widely believed to be aimed at shifting to new 10 nanometer technology. The finance ministry said the plant would be the most advanced chip facility in the world. A company spokesman declined to comment. Intel had said in January that it would decide on the location of a 10 nanometer plant this year. Israel was one of a number of countries competing to host the new plant. Intel Israel's exports, mainly from its Fab 28 plant in Kiryat Gat, amounted to $3.8 billion in 2013, down from $4.6 billion the year before. In its 40 years in Israel, Intel has invested $10.8 billion in plants and development centres and received $1.5 billion in grants. It employs nearly 10,000 people in the Jewish state.
