Qualcomm Ventures, chipmaker Qualcomm’s corporate venturing arm, has joined the Brazilian state-affiliated National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) to launch a R$160m ($39.3m) investment vehicle.
Qualcomm Ventures and BNDES will each contribute 50% of the capital for the initiative. It will target internet-of-things (IoT) technology developers at seed and series A stage according to Baguete, Brazil having established a decree to promote the IoT space in mid-2019.
The fund aligns with the Qualcomm’s strategy to develop Brazil’s IoT ecosystem, according to Rafael Steinhauser, Qualcomm’s president for Latin America, who said: “In addition to the financial contribution, we will also contribute with our expertise in IoT – after all, we have been developing technologies in this field for at least a decade.”
Alexandre Villela, Qualcomm Ventures managing director for Latin America, added: “At a time when companies are looking for productivity gains to increase their global competitiveness, IoT emerges as one of the pillars of digital transformation and advanced manufacturing – industry 4.0 – in companies.” (Translated from Portuguese by Global Corporate Venturing)
