Intel Joins One Laptop Per Child Initiative

The One Laptop Per Child project has reached an agreement with long-standing skeptic Intel Corp. to work together to explore ways to get computer technology into the hands of children in developing nations. The move, announced yesterday, is a great vindication for the Cambridge-based OLPC and its founder, Nicholas Negroponte, who told me only a few days ago that he was on the road 330 days out of the year working on the project. He also said that after three years of gestation, OLPC was at “the point of inflection” in its efforts surrounding the XO laptop, a personal computer based on free and open source software planned for production beginning in September.

Intel, which already markets its Classmate PC at least somewhat in competition with the XO, has long been critical of the OLPC program. Under the terms of the agreement, the announcement of which was about as vaguely worded as one could imagine, Intel will join the OLPC board. The two will explore ways to jointly develop and promote both technology and educational content, and “bring the benefits of technology to the developing world through synergy of their respective programs.”

“Intel joins the OLPC board as a world leader in technology, helping reach the world’s children. Collaboration with Intel means that the maximum number of laptops will reach children,” Negroponte said in the statement.

(Image from wikipedia under its licensing terms.)

Author: Robert Buderi

Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative. Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.