Chris Bartlett, head of Verizon Ventures, a corporate venture capital arm of Verizon, and Alex Villela, a managing director for Qualcomm Ventures, mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm’s CVC unit, were interviewed by Dave Flanagan, senior managing director of Intel Capital, the corporate venturing division of chipmaker Intel, on the development of 5G technology.
Bartlett said the impact of 5G would be larger than previously believed but would also take longer to develop than expected. Verizon was already building a 5G network to help devices and networks to connect, he said.
Bartlett predicted that 5G would start gaining traction in 2021 and the following year would be even more important for the technology. Verizon Ventures was investing in companies with foundation tech for 5G, as it was a strategic topic for many chief executives and chief innovation officers across the telecommunications industry.
The sharing economy was born amid a 4G backdrop and Villela said 5G would enable other types of opportunities, leveraging artificial intelligence to facilitate the connection between smart devices.
Villela gave the example of games, as consumers could have a richer experience through immersive reality. His unit launched a $200m vehicle, Qualcomm Ventures 5G Ecosystem Fund, to focus on the technology in October 2019.
Bartlett agreed and said the focus would shift from virtual reality to augmented reality thanks to 5G technology.
Verizon Ventures’ investment activities could be a proxy, allowing more efficient connections – initially in the industrial sector, but increasingly more on the enterprise and supply chain sides. He added: “5G would enable industrial internet of things, real-time analytics and faster decision-making.”
Data centres could be brought into the telecommunications world, according to Villela, who mentioned the 5G application layer being developed by wearable tablet producer RealWear, Qualcomm Ventures’ portfolio company.
