Intel's $21m Gears Tobii for Mass Market

Chip maker Intel has invested $21m in technology firm Tobii, to help the company move its eye tracking and gaze interaction solutions to 'mass-market' applications such as mainstream computers, cars, games and other consumer products.

Earlier this year, Tobii launched a compact and portable field device called the Tobii X1 Light Eye Tracker, while last year it rolled out a specialist eye tracker for the mobile device markets.

The new funding has been provided by Intel's corporate venture capital arm Intel Capital, and Joel Fisch, who is Director of Business Development at Intel's Architecture Development Group, said that working closely with Tobii, his firm hopes to bring the benefit of eye tracking to personal computing.

Commenting on the funding round, Tobii CEO Henrik Eskilsson (pictured) added: 'Tobii aims at taking eye tracking from niche markets to mass-market applications, in mainstream computing and automotive applications. This investment will help us to take this leap.'

As part of the funding, Intel Capital Director Ian Cooper joins the Tobii Board.

Tobii - which is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and has offices in the US, Germany, Norway, Japan and China - is online at: www.tobii.com .