IFA 2022: Meta, Qualcomm to join forces to develop metaverse platforms, custom XR chips

Facebook parent Meta Platforms and chip company Qualcomm Technologies have signed a multi-year agreement to share their technical capabilities to develop future metaverse platforms. As part of the agreement, Qualcomm will provide customised chipsets based on Snapdragon extended reality (XR) platform to Meta’s Oculus Quest devices. 

The partnership was announced at the ongoing IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) 2022 consumer electronics show in Berlin on September 2. 

“We're working with Qualcomm on customised virtual reality chipsets, powered by Snapdragon XR platforms and technology, for our future roadmap of Quest products,” said Mark Zuckerberg, founder, and chief executive of Meta. 

Zuckerberg noted that building specialised technologies is required to build more advanced capabilities and experiences for VR and augmented reality (AR). 

Cristiano Amon, president, and chief executive of Qualcomm Incorporated concurred that the agreement will allow the two companies to develop “best-in-class devices and experiences” that will transform work, entertainment, learning, and communication in a fully realised metaverse. 

Meta’s Quest 2 headset, launched in October 2020 was the first device to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 platform, which supports 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) processing. 

Zuckerberg announced his plans to make Facebook a metaverse company last October and changed the company’s name to Meta to reflect that. Meta spent $10 billion on building the metaverse last year, according to the company. 

Qualcomm too is banking on the VR/AR-driven metaverse and in March announced a $100 million metaverse fund to support developers and companies working on unique XR experiences. Also, in January at CES 2022, Qualcomm announced a partnership with Microsoft to develop custom AR chips. 

According to a June report by consultancy firm Mckinsey & Company, Metaverse is projected to generate up to $5 trillion in economic value by 2030 in both consumer and enterprise segments. The report also shows that investments into metaverse companies grew from $57 billion in CY2021 to $120 billion in the first five months of 2022.