Qualcomm Announces $100M AI Startup Fund for 5G, Robotics, Cars
This week U.S.-based Qualcomm announced that it will be investing $100 million into artificial intelligence (AI)-related technologies, focusing on "on-device" and mobile AI, particularly for robotics, autonomous cars and machine learning platforms, the company explained.
Handled through the newly launched Qualcomm Ventures AI Fund, part of Qualcomm Ventures, the $100 million will be used to invest in startups that the company believes is transforming AI in the above areas and will help position the Qualcomm as a leader in AI.
Qualcomm said that the investment ties into its significant 5G-related investment. "Qualcomm's ambitious 5G vision and strategic commitment to on-device AI goes hand in hand with mobile becoming the pervasive AI platform," the company said in its announcement of the fund."As AI shifts towards the wireless edge -- combining essential on-device capabilities with the edge cloud -- the industry is already starting to see the full potential of 5G."
Qualcomm has already started using the fund to invest in AnyVision, a "face, body and object recognition" startup.
The company has invested in other AI startups prior to this announcement, including Brain Corp., SenseTime and Cruise Automation.
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Becky Nagel serves as vice president of AI for 1105 Media specializing in developing media, events and training for companies around AI and generative AI technology. She also regularly writes and reports on AI news, and is the founding editor of PureAI.com. She's the author of "ChatGPT Prompt 101 Guide for Business Users" and other popular AI resources with a real-world business perspective. She regularly speaks, writes and develops content around AI, generative AI and other business tech. Find her on X/Twitter @beckynagel.