Qualcomm, the U.S. based electronics giant known for designing and manufacturing those famed snapdragon chips and telecommunication products, has today announced that it plans to invest around $150 million Indian start-ups, as a part of PM Modi’s Digital India Dinner.
The company aims to invest across all stages. This announcement comes as a part of the company’s commitment to India during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Digital Economy event.
The new venture fund will be advised by Qualcomm Ventures, which is an investment arm of the group. This fund will fuel innovation and foster promising Indian startups which are contributing to the Mobile and Internet of Everything ecosystem.
Qualcomm has been investing in Indian startups since last eight years and has invested in around 20 countries as a part of its global portfolio. It’s targeted sectors include hardware, software platforms, e-commerce, healthcare, location based services and retail technology.
It has directly invested in YourStory – a story-telling blogging platform for entrepreneurs, MapMyIndia – a digital map portal for navigation and tracking, Portea Medical – in home healthcare provider, among others.
Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, Executive Chairman of 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.
Qualcomm will also introduce a Design in India Initiative and Competition with the aim to encourage creation of local product design ecosystem. A Qualcomm Innovation Lab will be set up in Bangalore in order to provide technical and engineering support to Indian companies.
