Qualcomm Incorporated today announced that it will invest up to US$ 150 million (approximately Rs. 9.8 billion or Rs. 980 crores) in Indian startup companies across all stages through its venture arm, Qualcomm Ventures as part of its commitment to India, during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Digital Economy event in San Jose.
Through this investment, Qualcomm aims to fuel innovation and foster promising Indian start ups who are contributing to the mobile and ‘internet of everything’ ecosystem. It will provide start ups with financial, marketing, technology and business support to help propel them forward in the competitive Indian market. The company have been investing in Indian startups since 2007 and there are more than 20 Indian companies as part of its global portfolio.
Qualcomm also announced Design in India Initiative and Competition designed to:
- Encourage the creation of a local product design ecosystem.
- Help make India a hub for design capabilities that drive the manufacturing value chain for 3G/4G smartphones, tablets and Internet of Everything (IoE).
- Leverage India’s engineering talent to scale innovation for both local consumption, and the rest of the world.
- A Qualcomm Innovation Lab will be set up in Bangalore, India to provide technical and engineering support to Indian companies, and we will support multiple Indian mobile device design companies.
- Through a Design Challenge, innovative product and hardware companies will be identified who will receive technical and engineering support in the Qualcomm Innovation Lab.
At the Digital Economy event, Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, executive chairman, Qualcomm Incorporated, said:
We share Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. India is at the cusp of a technology revolution and mobile technologies will lay the foundation for Digital India. We are committed to providing local innovative start-ups with the support needed to help India’s IOE ecosystem grow, increasing consumer choice and availability.
Nagraj Kashyap, senior vice president of Qualcomm Incorporated, said:
Since Qualcomm’s first India investment in 2007 and with full-fledged presence starting in early 2008, we continue to invest broadly to strengthen India’s overall economy. We are committed to providing these companies with the support needed to help propel them forward in the competitive Indian region. We’re excited about the new prospects in India and look forward to growing our portfolio.