Intel will invest up to $1.5 billion for 20...

Intel will invest up to $1.5 billion for 20 percent ownership of the Chinese holding company Tsinghua Unigroup to expand the adoption of Intel-based mobile devices in China, Intel said Thursday. Tsinghua Unigroup owns Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics, Chinese fabless semiconductor makers that produce mobile chipsets for smartphones and other CE products, Intel said. “China is now the largest consumption market for smartphones and has the largest number of Internet users in the world,” said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. The partnership with Tsinghua Unigroup will “enhance our ability to support a wider range of mobile customers in China and the rest of the world by more quickly delivering a broader portfolio of Intel architecture and communications technology solutions,” he said. To begin, Intel and Spreadtrum will jointly create a line of Intel-based system-on-chips for smartphones that both companies will sell starting in 2015’s second half, Intel said.