Qualcomm Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM), the world’s leading telecommunications chip supplier, has announced the creation of a $100 million investment fund to support development in the metaverse.
The move signals Qualcomm’s belief that the collective virtual open space will become a major new platform for communication and commerce, and underscores its commitment to helping make that happen. So if you’re working on something cool in the metaverse and actively producing extended reality (XR) ecosystems, artificial intelligence (AI) or augmented reality (AR) technologies designed to advance the XR experience, keep an eye out for Qualcomm’s money…it could be coming your way.
The investment project, through which Qualcomm hopes to broaden the market for its chips, is called the “SnapDragon Metaverse Fund.” This is a reference to the company’s Snapdragon (SoC) chipsets, which have a massive impact on the design and capabilities of a wide range of devices like smartphones, tablets, computers, smartwatches, and smartbooks.
Qualcomm said it wants to accelerate the Metaverse content ecosystem and the next generation of spatial computing via the deployment of direct capital to XR developers and creators.
The firm also said that as a key contributor in every major computing evolution, it aims to be the “ticket to the metaverse” via its 5G, AI, and portfolio of XR tools, including its Snapdragon XR Platforms, Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform, and XR Labs Europe – all of which it describes as critical to the metaverse.
Qualcomm believes that the advancements it is making in next-gen XR technologies are possible due to its strong presence in the 5G market. The company also stressed the importance of the fund, noting that as “we enter the new era of spatial computing, the Snapdragon Metaverse Fund will help enable and foster innovation across the entire ecosystem through venture investment and developer ecosystem grants for content projects.”
The fund will begin accepting applications in June.
Price Action
QCOM shares were trading down 0.43% to $157.16 at the time of publication. The $175 billion market cap name is down 13.82% year-to-date and up 24% year-over-year. Ticker’s 52-wk range: $122.17 – $193.58.
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