Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC)’s venture capital arm, Intel Capital, is making a play in cloud-based gaming through an investment Gaikai, a service which plans to stream games over the Internet beginning this summer.
Gaikai’s platform, developed by company co-founders Andrew Gault and Rui Pereira , will theoretically let gamers use their web browsers to play titles such as Electronic Arts’ “The Sims,” “Mass Effect” and “Medal of Honor.” Cloud based-gaming first came to the world through a service called “OnLive” which has gained some notoriety from the press. Many remain skeptical of the technology with streaming games requiring a high amount of bandwidth and low latency.
The terms of the investment were not disclosed, but Gaikai CEO David Perry said his company is relying on servers running Intel’s Six-Core processors, saying that Intel’s technology allow “us to stream more games simultaneously while offering users a premium experience…having Intel Capital buy into our vision as much as we buy into their processors makes this a great deal for both companies.”
Intel Capital VP Lisa Lambert said that Gaikai is “as a leading player in the emerging area of cloud-based gaming.” She added, “We look forward to working with Gaikai to provide new data center capabilities to support their technologies.”
Gaikai, based in Aliso Viejo in Orange County, has been backed by Benchmark Capital, TriplePoint Capital and Rustic Canyon Partners.
