Intel has launched a $100 million fund in China to accelerate innovation of smart devices, as it seeks to spur development of newfangled products using its chips.

Speaking at the Intel Developer Forum in Shenzhen on Wednesday, CEO Brian Krzanich announced the establishment of an Intel Smart Device Innovation Center there and a $100 million Intel Capital China Smart Device Innovation Fund.

The goal is to team up with local companies to foster innovation, with the emphasis, of course, on Intel silicon technology.

The fund hopes to get Chinese companies to develop Intel-based 2-in-1 hybrids (tablet-laptop), tablets, smartphones, wearables, and the Internet of Things.

In conjunction with this, the center "will expand Intel's work beyond tablets and provide local manufacturers and software developers with access to...master reference designs for turnkey solutions, development tools, supply chain sourcing, quality management and customer support -- acting as a bridge between product conception and commercial deployment," Intel said in a statement.

Since 1998, Intel Capital has invested more than $670 million in 110 companies in China.

"The China technology ecosystem will be instrumental in the transformation of computing," Krzanich said in a statement.

He is also discussing new products, including Intel Edison, a platform that makes it easier for entrepreneurs to get started with Intel-based wearables. He also announced the availability of the Intel Gateway Solutions for the Internet of Things based on Intel Quark and Atom processors.

Krzanich also demonstrated for the first time SoFIA, a chip for low-cost phones that will be built at a factory outside the company.