HYDERABAD: Intel has agreed to buy Soft Machines , a Silicon Valley-based chip-design company founded by an Indian-origin entrepreneur for nearly $300 million ( Rs 2,000 crore), according to two people aware of the development.“It is a cash-cum-stock deal with a cash component of over $250 million,” said one of the sources, who did not want to be identified, adding that “all the professionals of Soft Machines have become part of Intel from Thursday.” The news was first reported by technology website The Register.Intel declined to comment.Representatives of Soft Machines were not available for comment. Soft Machines, which says its technology helps chips compute faster and more efficiently, was cofounded by Andhra Pradesh native Mahesh Lingareddy and Mohammad A Abdallah , a native of Jordan. Both are former Intel veterans.A profile of Lingareddy on the company’s website describes him as an alumnus of Andhra University in Kakinada and University of Toledo. Soft Machines, founded in 2006 and based in Santa Clara, has raised $175 million from investors that includeSamsung Ventures, AMD and Global Foundries.All existing investors will exit the venture and Intel will take full control, the sources said. Teams from Intel have already initiated the process of expanding the four-year-old operations of Soft Machines in Hyderabad by acquiring office space in the Financial District.“The plan is to see that the team size is increased more than 10-fold over the next two-three years to nearly 2,000,” one person said.