In a bid to elude the declining personal computer market, Intel's venture capital arm has invested over $60 million in a Hong Kong-based consumer drone seller.
The chipmaker giant and Yuneec Holding Ltd. will do a collaboration on the development of the said products. One innovation expected of the tandem is the incorporation of Intel chips into the future Yuneec-produced drones.
The move also highlights CEO Brian Krzanich's plan to take the chipmaking firm beyond components for computers.
During an Intel event last week in San Francisco, Krzanich put drones, new-wave gadgets and robots on display during high-profile speeches.
In contrast with earlier remote-control planes, drones have autonomous capabilities like flying home or hovering in a fixed position when programmed. Hence, Intel will step up efforts to enhance these devices' capabilities.
The chipmaker has been working to integrate special cameras into drones to help them avoid objects, even without assistance from humans.
The Intel CEO also praised the various potentials drones have during a special video presentation. These include inspecting disaster sites and delivering packages.
"We've got drones on our road map that are going to truly change the world and revolution the industry," he shared.
Hong Kong firm Yuneec, founded in 1999, kicked off with piloted airplanes prior to unveiling its first drone last year. The gadget, a Typhoon Q500 4K, which is priced at $1,299, has an ultrahigh definition camera that can capture photos and videos while the drone flies.
Yuneec also boasted of its drones, which it described as ready to fly out of the box. This is compared with other similar gadgets that need to be assembled or configured by the users.