https://avram.substack.com/p/the-flight-of-a-wild-duck-start-here It took me three years to write my memoir. The first year was spent doing research, the second writing, and the third editing. I enjoyed the process immensely. I had three audiences in mind while writing it. The first was people like me or parents of people like me who could not follow the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Intel
Apple / Avram's Past / Intel
Apple at 50 — A Tribute to the Genius and Tenacity of Steve Jobs
Apple turned out to be the most influential computer company since IBM and it continues. So while we celebrate its 50th year, we need to take amount to recognize the genius of the man who was responsible for that, Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs entered my life in 1982 and remained a recurring presence—sometimes directly, sometimes … Continue reading
Why Did Intel Capital Fail to Influence Intel’s Strategy
I just read a very well-written article about this question, which you can read here. https://globalventuring.com/corporate/information-technology/how-intel-lost-touch-with-its-investment-arm/ It begins with the question: How could Intel Capital, a world-leading investment unit, have created more than $170 billion in market value from investing in more than 1,800 companies, and still not be able to steer its parent through … Continue reading
How meeting Barry Diller influenced the development of the internet
It was early 1993 when Andy Grove asked me to meet his renowned journalist friend, Norm Pearlstine. At that time, Norm was Executive Vice President of Dow Jones, which owned The Wall Street Journal, where Norm had previously worked. He would go on to become Editor-in-Chief of Time Magazine, eventually run the LA Times. Norm … Continue reading
ChatGTP Reads my Book and Likes It
I asked ChatGPT to read my book, The Flight of a Wild Duck. That was fine—it did so in an instant. I then asked for its opinion. What it wrote made me very happy because it reflected exactly my original intentions. The Flight of a Wild Duck is remarkable—deeply human, intellectually rich, and uncommonly honest. … Continue reading
I Realize I Am Guilty of Self-Ageism
I realize that I am guilty of ageism—and in particular, what I would call self-ageism. Ageism is a form of prejudice. It means thinking poorly of someone not because of their behavior or character, but simply because of their age. This realization came to me the other day while I was considering the possibility of … Continue reading
Intel Capital: A Financial Success and a Strategic Failure-A Point of View from the Co-Founder
When Les Vadasz and I started Intel Capital in 1991 (I had already been doing minority investments since 1988), we had three objectives: We believed, correctly, that by working with early-stage companies we could gather important insight into future opportunities and challenges. That part was true, but our inability to use this information to inform … Continue reading
broadband / Future / Intel / Technology
Formerly, the Former Avram Miller
Turning 80 Turning 80 last month was not easy for me. I used to be the youngest person | in the room. Now I am the oldest. Once, I was a child prodigy. Now I am an elderly man who gets seats offered to him when he rides the metro. Frankly, I am struggling to … Continue reading
Intel recently announced it is spinning out Intel Capital.
Les Vadasz and I co-founded Intel Capital in 1991. Les had hired me in 1984, and he was the only person I reported to during my 15 years at Intel. He was among the original 12 people who started Intel, appearing as employee #3. Sadly, he is the only one of that group who is … Continue reading
Intel Inside the PC Jail
In the 90s Intel Capital invested in Broadcom, initially as part of Intel’s ethernet initiatives. This investment was later augmented in support of our very successful effort to create residential broadband, an effort I was spearheading. Intel became the largest outside shareholder of Broadcom owning about 7%. At the time, I believed that Intel should … Continue reading
Two Thirds Done 