Intel takes its diversity push to the venture world

However white and male the tech industry is, the make-up of venture-backed companies -- the saplings who will become Silicon Valley's future giants -- is even more so.

Fewer than 1 percent of founders of Silicon Valley firms are African American or Latino. Only 15 percent of venture capital-funded companies in the United States have a woman on the executive team. But Intel hopes to change that. The chip-maker announced that it is launching a $125 million venture fund that will invest over five years in companies founded or run by women or underrepresented minorities. The fund is believed to be the largest amount ever devoted to such an effort. With its investment arm, Intel Capital, the company plans to reshape a startup landscape where female, African American, Latino and Native American tech dreamers say they struggle to raise money.