The world is inching towards an era that will be quite unimaginable of what we have today, a confluence of technological advancement like AI, robotics, cloud, machine learning are all taking place separately but to be integrated once 5G becomes available. Regarded as the next generation connectivity, we will soon see machines talking to each other, factories operating autonomously, smart cities flourishing made possible by the next evolution of wireless broadband. But before that we need innovators to develop applications, products, solutions and services for the various industries that is set to leverage on 5G.
To accelerate the process, Qualcomm is assisting startups to come up with innovative ideas with its newly created Ventures 5G Ecosystem Fund that has $200 million to spend. The global fund is to focus on investing in startups developing new and innovative 5G use cases, driving 5G network transformation and expanding 5G technology into enterprise markets. Qualcomm is looking at the fund to expand 5G innovation beyond smartphones.
The intent of this fund is to fuel innovative businesses that will be poised to take advantage of the $13.2T economic benefit that 5G will enable by 2035. Startups that seek funding will have to develop applictions beyond smartphones and across the entire 5G value chain. Qualcomm Ventures has a track record of investing in leading global startups with over 350 investments made since the group started in 2000. Including companies like Zoom, Cloudflare, AMEC, Xiaomi, Cruise Automation, 99, Thundersoft, Fitbit and Waze.
