Following the digital event that was held yesterday at San Jose, Qualcomm revealed that it is going to invest a massive chunk of money in India, in support of ‘digital India’ and ‘make in India’ initiative. The company is going to invest up to US$ 150 million (approximately Rs. 9.8 billion or Rs. 980 crores) in Indian startups of all fields.
The company will be investing via its venture subsidiary, named as Qualcomm Ventures. Apparently, all this is a result of company’s meeting with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at the Digital Economy event, held in San Jose. The investment will be targeted towards innovation and supporting Indian startups who are a part of mobile and ‘internet of everything’ ecosystem.
The support will be focused on providing start-ups in the different departments such as financial, marketing, technology and business, which will in turn help them to make a place in the competitive market. Qualcomm had been supporting Indian start-ups since the year 2007, and till now there are 20 Indian companies that have become a part of its vast portfolio on a global level.
Moreover, The company also announced a Design-in-India competition and initiative, which is targeted at encouraging the creation of product design ecosystem. The initiate will work towards making India a hub for design capabilities that drive the manufacturing value chain for 3G/4G smartphones, tablets and Internet of Everything (IoE) and leverage India’s engineering talent to scale innovation for both local consumption, and the rest of the world.
To explain the strategy, the company said,”An innovation lab will be set up in Bengaluru 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.”
Talking about the investment decision, 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.”
