OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. has opened a digital technology research and development center in Cupertino, Calif., the company said.The Panasonic Digital Concept Center aims to develop technologies for computerized consumer electric products that also feature information equipment functions, Matsushita said Thursday.Venture business tycoon Charles Wu will serve as chief of the center, which will also invest in local small and medium-size companies that specialize in developing technologies for electrical home information products, it said.Matsushita plans to invest up to some 1 billion yen in seven to eight cases a year to keep its stakes low and minimize investment risks, it said. The center also will provide financial support to researchers and offer facilities to them in the hope that by 2001 the company will be able to launch products based on technologies developed there, it said.
