VCs Join IBM's Power.org Group

SAN JOSE, Calif. — At an event in Palo Alto, Calif. on Wednesday (Dec. 14), an advisory board of leading venture capitalists are expected to join the Power.org group. The venture capitalists will help propel the organization's efforts in driving increased investment in IBM Corp.’s Power processor technology.

The Power.org Venture Capitalist Advisory Board members will include David Liddle, managing partner, USVP; Lip Bu Tan, managing partner, Walden International; Robert Jelski, partner, 3i Ventures; Rob Chandra, general partner, Bessemer; and Carl Everett, partner, Accel Partners.

The board will work with Power.org to analyze and validate new disruptive hardware technologies and strategies, driving momentum around Power Architecture technology.

Fifteen companies, including chip designers and manufacturers, last year unveiled an open standards initiative centering on IBM’s Power microprocessor architecture. The partners predicted the effort called Power.org would spark innovation in the design of consumer electronics, networking, automotive and IT. They plan to pool resources to create new devices and components based on Power chips.

On Wednesday, three new companies will join Power.org as member organizations, including IP-Extreme, Nallatech, and Azul Systems."Power.org's growing ecosystem of large and small companies, developers and venture investors are proving everyday that the Power processor architecture is jump starting innovation in the hardware sector," said Nigel Beck, chairman of Power.org, in a statement. "Startups are the key ingredient of our collaborative innovation model and we are pleased to see that the venture community is focused on funding new companies to prompt future product development and innovation for customers intent on realizing the benefits of Power."