Intel itself may have added to the confusion about its investment rationale
by widely touting the financial returns on its investments starting
in 2000. This publicity about the financial returns obscured the fact
that the high returns were secondary to Intel’s strategic objectives; the
(temporarily) high returns simply made Intel’s investments more affordable
at that time. Indeed, Intel continued to make corporate VC investments
in 2002, despite its investment losses in 2001. Although the number
of new investments in the United States has gone down, the number
of its international investments has greatly increased.