Intel, VC firms pledge $3.5 billion to invigorate U.S. tech market

Concerned that America has lost its footing as a technology hub, Intel and 24 venture capital firms have decided to jointly invest $3.5 billion in helping U.S.-based technical startups get off the ground in the next two years.

In announcing the initiative known as the Invest in America Alliance, Intel's CEO Paul Otellini said in a speech on Tuesday that other countries including China, India, Taiwan, Finland, Korea and the Netherlands, have become "far more potent competitors in the next phase of the global economy."

Along with providing capital, tech giants Intel, Google, Cisco, Microsoft and 13 other tech companies said they all plan to add more employees to their workforce in 2010. To fulfill this goal, these companies said they will hire 10,050 American college graduates that have earned computer science and engineering degrees.   

For more:
- see the New York Times article here