Ex-Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger discusses his new VC job
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Pat Gelsinger. Photo: Annabelle Chih/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pat Gelsinger has joined VC firm Playground Global as a general partner, just three months after abruptly retiring as CEO of chipmaker Intel. He'll also become exec chair of Playground portfolio company xLight, a developer of free electron lasers.
- Axios spoke with Gelsinger on Thursday about his decision. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation:
Axios: You've been an operator for decades. Why go into venture?
Gelsinger: Post-Intel I did about 100 meetings. Some were about other operating roles or potential government positions. Even a few university president opportunities.
As I sifted through them, it came down to some of the big private equity firms where you can write big checks, or the deep-tech VCs. Most of them have tombstones in their lobbies about successful deals or IPOs. At Playground, they have an engineer's playground. I'm an engineer's engineer, so it felt right. And I've maybe set a record by signing two term sheets in my first week on the job.
At Intel you oversaw Intel Capital, which now is spinning out. Does corporate venture still make sense?
We made the decision to spin it out when I was there.
Intel Capital and groups like it have agendas, in that they want to be close to the leading-edge thinking that comes from the entrepreneurial startup world. But scaling those groups, plus the balance sheet implications, is why you're seeing some companies decide to be affiliated but not necessarily in control. It's the exact route SAP took before Intel. And you see groups like Google Ventures and Salesforce Ventures operate more independently than controlled.
How are you currently thinking about reshoring the semiconductor industry?
I think about it through three different pillars of action. The first is the CHIPS Act, both the capital commitments and R&D commitments. I think there was huge support from Congress to get that done...
But Trump says he wants to rescind the CHIPS Act.
He pushes hard on things and then finds the pragmatic place that still meets his objectives. I think that will happen here. If you watch Howard Lutnick's confirmation hearing, a lot of senators from both parties asked specifically if he'd execute the CHIPS Act.
The second pillar is tariffs. The third is the sovereign wealth fund. Let's bring all the big economic levers to this assignment.
You think the SWF is going to happen?
Oh yeah, they're quite dedicated to it. Sovereign wealth funds in places like Singapore have played a major role in the economic miracle, and I think this administration wants to leverage that capacity in a very serious way.
You've only been a VC for a week. Any surprises?
I'd had an operational role for 45 contiguous years, and it's been pretty delightful how quickly those networks can be leveraged in venture capital. But I'm also still a novice.
When I was COO at EMC, I came with the explicit purpose to become CEO, and I'd ask one of the board members how I was doing and what I needed to work on. He first told me that EMC was an East Coast firm and I was still dressing like an engineer. So I got some suits.
The second thing was that I needed to learn corporate finance if I was ever going to run the place. It was a new domain for me, things like talking to shareholders, so the CEO Joe Tucci got me a private tutor from Columbia University. I went on a summer cruise with my wife, and I'm there reading a 1,100-page corporate finance textbook. Now I need to learn the venture capital handbook, including things like writing term sheets, because I've never before sat on this side of the table.
