Intel will invest a whopping $100 million over the next three years for the development of its next generation micro-chip, CNET reporter Dan Faber confirmed on Thursday.

The semiconductor giant will reportedly infuse the bulk of its cash to the Intel Capital Experiences and Perceptual Computing Fund, which will finance startups and other software companies tasked to take computing to another level.

'Perception computing' will be the prevailing theme for Intel in the coming years, introducing a new breed of micro-chip with natural user interfaces capabilities (touch, voice, gesture, emotion sensing, image recognition and biometrics).

"Devices with human-like senses - the ability to see, hear and feel much like people do - has long been a subject of science fiction but is now within reach given recent innovations in compute power and camera technology," said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president, in a press-release.

Aside from financial aid, Intel will provide these startup software companies with business development and technology support. The company will also give away roughly $1 million in prizes for the winning developers of their Intel Perceptual Computing Challenge.

"This new fund will invest in start-ups and companies enabling these experiences, helping them with the business development support, global business network and technology expertise needed to scale for worldwide use," Mr Sodhani added.