Web-based phone-calling company Jajah has won Intel’s backing for its VoIP service, reports Reuters.

Jajah, which has more than 2 million users of its free or low-cost global calling service, has agreed to marketing, patent and distribution deals with Intel and will receive $20 million financing from Intel’s venture capital arm.

Jajah was founded by two young Austrian entrepreneurs, Phillip Mobin and Touraj Parang, with the mission to bring voice to social networks and blogs. Market leader Skype, is now a unit of eBay. Other Voice-over-Internet (VoIP) players include Grand Central, Jaxtr and Jangl. Joost, the online video site established by the founders of Skype, has raised $45m in funding from four venture capital and media groups, just a week after launching the service.

The deal gives Jajah access to Intel’s sales channel of thousands of dealers, personal computer makers and software developers, and could lead to Jajah becoming a desktop icon on PCs later this year, said CEO Trevor Healy. Over time, Jajah hopes to see its Internet phone-calling technology being embedded into microprocessors.

Jajah sees access to Intel’s intellectual property as a crucial differentiator. It aims to license 16 of its patents covering VoIP and “softphones,” Healy said. Funding by the Intel-led group marks Jajah’s third outside investment round.

Jajah plans to use the funding to accelerate development of new products for global markets and aims to sign up 5 million customers by year-end.

Posted by Sam Churchill on Thursday, May 10th, 2007 at 4:59 am.