US-based mobile chipmaker Qualcomm has invested undisclosed sums in nine China-based companies through its $150m China Venture Fund, TechCrunch reported today.
Mobike, the bicycle sharing platform that raised $600m in a June 2017 round led by internet group Tencent, is among the chosen companies. Qualcomm and Mobike have been cooperating for the latter’s international expansion efforts.
SenseTime, an artificial intelligence (AI) technology developer that closed a $410m series B round in July 2017 backed by real estate-focused conglomerate Dalian Wanda, also received funding, reportedly as part of a $500m series C round yet to be closed.
Qualcomm’s investment in deep learning software developer Kneron was made as part of a $10m series A round led by e-commerce group Alibaba’s Entrepreneur Fund.
Kneron’s series A round also featured fabless semiconductor producer Himax Technologies, mobile operating system developer Thundersoft, Sequoia Capital, CDIB and Cyzone Angel Fund.
The other startups that received funding from Qualcomm include Creatcomm Technology, a long-distance wireless data transmission technology developer, and Microduino, which creates electronic building blocks that are compatible with Lego.
Magic AI, an AI, virtual and augmented reality platform that aims to help bring the technologies to several vertical industries, also secured cash, as did agricultural trading platform Beijing Agriculture Consultant and Management, an existing Qualcomm portfolio company.
Qualcomm also invested in Alo7, which operates an online study environment to teach English to primary school children. The corporate led its eight-figure series C round in 2013, which included UMC Capital, the investment arm of semiconductor foundry UMC, and Vickers Ventures.
Finally, Qualcomm has agreed to invest in Element Zone, a developer of software that enables unattended convenience stores, though that deal has not yet closed.