Intel pushing ultrabooks by “matchmaking” manufacturers in Taiwan

Intel is reportedly getting ready to light a fire under the ultrabook industry by staging a meeting to pair up manufacturers, including smaller brands in consumer electronics.

Ultrabooks are ultra-thin, ultra-light laptops created to compete with Apple’s MacBook Air. Intel’s second-generation Core microprocessors are powering the ultrabooks currently on the market, powering the super-skinny machines at mainstream prices.

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A source close to the matter told Cnet that the meeting between the ultrabook manufacturers was scheduled to take place tomorrow in Taipei and that Intel would be acting as a matchmaker.

Companies reportedly slated to attend the meeting include Foxconn (famous for making Apple’s iOS devices), Pegatron, Compal and Quanta, as well as consumer brands Epson, Onkyo, Viewsonic, Mustek, Motion Computing, WiPro and Positivo.

Right now, most of the major PC manufacturers have skin in the ultrabook game. Acer recently unveiled the 13.3-inch, 3-pound Aspire S3 Ultrabook, which started selling earlier this year.

Toshiba debuted its similarly sized Portege Z830 series laptops in September. And in October, Asus announced its new Zenbook line in 11-inch and 13-inch models weighing 2.4 pounds and 2.9 pounds, respectively.

Finally, at the end of October, HP announced its own ultrabooks would be coming soon.

But some of the smaller brands attending Intel’s meeting need a leg up to get into ultrabook manufacturing and marketing, hence the meeting in Taipei.

This isn’t Intel’s first attempt to jumpstart the ultrabook market, either: Earlier this year it created a $300 million, five-year fund to invest in the burgeoning ultrabook industry.