AOL Inc. co-founder Steve Case will lead a White House campaign seeking to increase private-sector investments in startup companies and small businesses as part of President Obama's directive to promote entrepreneurship, the administration announced. Case's appearance Monday at the White House for the administration's "Startup America Partnership" was part of a weeklong series of events aimed at encouraging investments by U.S. businesses in small firms. Carl Schramm, president and chief executive officer of the Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes entrepreneurship, will be a founding board member of the private-sector-led campaign. The initiative includes pledges from companies including Facebook Inc., Intel Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and International Business Machines Corp. to increase their investments in startup companies.

As part of the initiative, Intel will commit $200 million in new investments in U.S. technology companies, IBM will invest $150 million to fund programs for entrepreneurs and HP is investing more than $4 million in a learning initiative.

In his Jan. 25 State of the Union address, Obama said part of his plan to "out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world" includes more investments in education, technology and infrastructure to reduce unemployment and ensure the U.S. can compete with economic rivals.

Obama's fiscal 2012 budget, set for release Feb. 14, will include a proposal to make permanent the elimination of capital gains taxes on certain investments in small businesses, according to the announcement. The budget will also include an expansion of the new markets tax credit to help encourage investments in startup companies and small businesses based in low-income areas.

The White House also will announce that the Small Business Administration will direct $2 billion in existing guarantee authority over the next five years to match private-sector investments in lower-income areas.