Well, it looks like Intel is really putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to mobile. Intel’s global investment and M&A branch, Intel Capital, today officially announced the creation of its new “AppUp” Fund — a $100 million fund that will be used to invest in startups and enterprises developing apps and software tools for mobile devices and PCs.

At the Intel Capital Global Summit in Huntington Beach today, Intel also revealed that Urban Airship and 4tiitoo were the first two companies to receive investment from the AppUpp fund.

As we wrote last week, Urban Airship recently closed a $15.1 million series C round of financing, close on the heels of its acquisition of SimpleGeo, which was once referred to as the “Amazon Web Services” for location-based products. According to Urban Airship, Intel invested in the company’s Series C raise out of its new AppUp Fund; however, it seems that the investor wanted more, as Urban Airship today announced that it has entered into a business collaboration agreement with Intel Software and Services Group as well.

Essentially, this means that Intel’s software and services group will be licensing Urban Airship’s software to embed into Intel offerings, allowing developers to create smart, context-rich apps that take advantage of the startup’s core services, namely: Push notifications, in-app purchasing, subscriptions — and now, thanks to SimpleGeo — geo-location.

For Urban Airship, this is yet another interesting strategic move, as its collaboration with Intel will give it access to the Ultrabook, netbook, and tablet markets through enabling app developers to integrate their services.

Of course, not to be forgotten is the second recipient of Intel’s new mobile fund, 4tiitoo, a German OSV and tablet developer. 4tiitoo’s own “WeTab OS” is an operating system that is optimized for tablets and mobile devices and supports apps from multiple platforms and technologies, including Linux, Java, HTML5, Adobe AIR, Flash, and Android.

As one might guess, Intel said today that its new AppUp Fund is designed to advance innovation (read: mobile technologies) based on Intel architecture, specifically in digital media consumption, context-aware computing, and infrastructure apps. The end goal here is to ramp up development and build out the ecosystems surrounding Intel’s push into Ultrabooks and netbooks.

And to that point, the new AppUp Fund is a complement to Intel’s recently announced $300 million “Ultrabook Fund”, by which the company showed that it is making a big bet that Ultrabooks, the hybrid between laptops and tablets, will be the future of mobile computing.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Intel Capital, the investment arm of chip giant Intel Corporation, has announced a $300 Million Ultrabook Fund to fund technologies that will help deliver new and enhanced user experiences, longer battery life and slim component and platform technologies in personal computing.

Earlier this year, Intel pitched a new category of laptops, Ultrabooks, which are supposed have three distinct features: they are thinner (less than 20mm/0.8 inches), lighter than most existing laptops, and priced below $1,000 in order to become mainstream. Basically Intel says these devices will marry the performance and capabilities of today’s laptops with tablet-like features.

To help realize that vision, the Intel Capital Ultrabook Fund will invest in companies building hardware and software technologies focused on enhancing how people interact with this new form of device, Ultrabooks, such as through sensors and touch, achieving all-day usage through longer battery life, enabling innovative physical designs and improved storage capacity.

The overall goal of the fund, which will be invested over the next 3-4 years, is to create a cycle of innovation and system capabilities for this new and growing category of mobile devices.

This seems to be one part of Intel’s overall strategy to help make Ultrabooks a reality. Intel’s latest 2nd Generation Intel CoreTM processors will soon be released, which the company promises to enable thin, lightdesigns that are less than 21mm (0.8 inch) thick, and at mainstream prices. Systems based on these chips will be available for the 2011 winter holiday shopping season, says Intel.

Another processor, dubbed “Ivy Bridge,” which is scheduled for availability in systems in the first half of 2012, will promise improved power efficiency, smart visual performance, increased responsiveness and enhanced security. And Haswell” is expected to reduce power consumption to half of the “thermal design point” for today’s microprocessors.

This isn’t the first dedicated fund for Intel Capital. The investment firm also has country-specific funds such as the India Technology Fund, China Technology Fund II, Brazil Technology Fund and Middle East and Turkey Fund as well as past technology specific funds such as Intel Digital Home Fund and Intel Communications Fund. Intel says that its Intel Capital investment portfolio is currently valued at approximately $2.179 billion.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch