Intel NBI: Intel Corporation's New Business Initiatives (A)

For Intel Corporation, the processes and priorities that have made it so successful are difficult to overcome as the company tries to diversify away from its core. The case examines the history and evolution of the New Business Initiatives (NBI) group, as the leader grapples with the questions surrounding why so few of the unit's start-ups actually become significant businesses within Intel's existing divisional structure. While a handful have successfully "graduated" and continue to show high levels of promise, these ventures did not represent truly new and distinct businesses for Intel. Rather they were strongly tied to existing businesses, raising the question of whether NBI had simply become a way for existing divisions to off-load budgetary risk. The case examines what worked, and what didn't, and the challenges posed by transitioning new ventures into the mainstream of the company.