News

10 Feb Why is it so hard for women to get taken seriously by VCs?

Just before the holidays I had coffee with Anne, an ex-MBA student running a fairly large product group at a search engine company, now out trying to raise money for her own startup. She had an interesting insight: Existing content/media companies were having the same problem as hardware companies that rarely made the leap to new platforms. And she had a model for a new media company for mobile and wearables. I thought we were going to talk about her product progress, so I was a bit taken aback by her most pressing question, “Why is it still so hard for a woman to get taken seriously by a venture capitalist?”

08 Feb MINORITY LEADERS ON WHAT INTEL’S $300 MILLION PLEDGE WILL MEAN TO TECH DIVERSITY

There is a lot of lip service given fixing Silicon Valley's diversity problem. But Intel CEO Brian Krzanich promised a bold move last week when he announced that his company was pledging $300 million to be used over the next three years to help eradicate the lack of diversity in the tech space. Krzanich’s announcement addressed both his company’s internal diversity issue—Intel’s workforce is 76% male and just 4% black and 8% Latino—and the greater issue for Silicon Valley at large. He said, by funding engineering scholarships, supporting historically black colleges and universities and other means yet to be specified, that he hopes "to reach full representation at all levels" in the next five years. The actual number is undefined, he says it would represent a gender and racial breakdown equal to the number of qualified workers in the field.

07 Feb Apple And Intel Employees Work On MLK Day: Are Tech Diversity Efforts Sincere?

In their Golden Globes opening, hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler delivered a rundown of the five films nominated for Best Motion Picture—Drama. While describing Selma as the story of the epic march from Selma to Montgomery, culminating in LBJ signing the Voting Rights Act...

06 Feb The powerful woman behind Intel’s new $300 million diversity initiative

Intel president Renée James is building a pipeline of female and other groups of underrepresented engineers and computer scientists. Amidst the barrage of new TVs and connected fitness trackers unveiled at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas came a surprising announcement from chipmaker Intel: a $300 million investment in training and recruiting female and other groups of under-represented computer scientists.

04 Feb Takeaways from CES2015: Wireless Innovation, Diversity and Openness

Once again, I made my gadget obsessed friends green with envy by attending the International Consumer Electronics Show -- sacred ground for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. By the end of CES, tech journalists and casual guests have identified their favorite gadgets that were created by some of the most hyper-enthusiastic entrepreneurs you will ever meet. To be sure, that 3-D printer capable of producing a dress perfectly tailored for Mignon made the cut, but the main import of this year’s show, were the powerful messages that 3,600 exhibitors are sending about the impact of technology in our lives. Below are my top three takeaways.