While the government in Washington slowly inches their way toward a bill to create jobs for Americans, tech corporations and venture capital firms across the nation are teaming up in a private sector effort to create more companies and more jobs in the tech space. Led by Intel, the Invest in America Alliance, consisting of 17 companies and 24 VC firms, announced Tuesday that it has pledged to provide $3.5 billion in tech startup funding and jobs for over 10,000 new grads in the next two years.
Among the companies following Intel’s lead are Google, Adobe, Cisco, Dell, Microsoft and Yahoo!, and participating VC firms include Khosla Ventures, Storm Ventures, Advanced Technology Ventures and U.S. Venture Partners.
“We simply must have a clear, consistent strategy to promote innovation, investment and start-up companies,” says Intel CEO Paul Otellini. “There are things business can do, and ought to do, independent of what government achieves…Today’s announcements are both an investment in the country’s innovators and a signal to the global marketplace about America’s commitment to innovation and future competitiveness.”
Intel also announced Tuesday that it would be providing $200 million to its own investment firm, Intel Capital, which has provided over $6 billion in investments over the last two decades. This announcement comes on the heels of news from Washington that congress may be just days away from passing the Democratic Party’s jobs bill, but tech companies like Intel feel they need to continue doing their part to give back to the economy.
“Venture capital investments have played an important role in creating jobs at home and keeping America at the leading edge of technology globally,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital. According to Intel’s press release Tuesday, as of 2008, 11% of private sector employment in the U.S. comes from venture-backed companies. “With $3.5 billion of equity capital to invest in the most promising new ventures in the country, our collective goal is to continue to drive technology innovation and stimulate economic activity.”
