Qualcomm bets big on AI with $100 mn fund to invest in startups

Qualcomm Inc has set up a $100 million fund that will invest in startups working on artificial intelligence technologies, the US chipmaker said on Wednesday.

The fund, Qualcomm Ventures AI Fund, has already made its first investment via a Series A funding round of AnyVision, a face, body, and object recognition startup, the company said without disclosing the amount.

The new fund will focus on AI that will be used in autonomous cars, robotics and machine learning platforms.

San Diego-based Qualcomm joins chip industry contemporaries such as Intel Corp, Micron Technology Inc and Nvidia Corp in investing in AI.

Micron said in October it plans to invest up to $100 million in startups focusing on artificial intelligence, while Intel's venture capital arm has funneled more than $1 billion in recent years into the technology.