Qualcomm Technologies has offered controlling equity stake to a group of third-party investors in its subsidiary called Qualcomm Retail Solutions (QRS).
The new joint venture entity named Gimbal will also own the Gimbal technology platform, a context aware proximity platform that originated in Qualcomm’s internal business incubation group before transitioning into QRS.
Qualcomm Technologies will remain a substantial investor in Qualcomm Retail Solutions
“Enabling proximal, contextually relevant experiences is an important element of our vision to bridge the digital and physical worlds across retailing, advertising, social networking and other use cases, and Gimbal is well positioned to continue to drive industry leadership,” said Derek Aberle, president of Qualcomm.
Qualcomm said Gimbal includes support for geofencing and proximity beacons as well as an intuitive SDK for iOS and Android that enables brands, retailers and others to engage consumers with relevant, timely and personalized communications.
The third-party investors are funding the business via a new investment round that includes additional funding from QTI. The investor group comprises of a mix of venture capital, strategic and individual investors, including the i-Hatch LBS Fund, which includes strategic corporate investors such as Zebra Technologies Corporation and AEG.
