Wireless chip vendor Qualcomm will invest up to $150 million in Chinese startup companies across all stages.
Incidentally, Qualcomm is facing a probe by Chinese authorities for the alleged violation of certain trade practices.
Qualcomm’s investment will be in areas such as Internet, e-commerce, semi-conductor, education and health.
Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm, said: “Through these collaborations and increased venture investments, Qualcomm remains committed to supporting the continuous growth of China’s mobile ecosystem, the development of 4G LTE networks, devices and applications, and addressing industry evolutions and challenges, including the 1000x mobile data challenge.”
Qualcomm has recently funded Cambridge Wowo, a mobile education start-up, and Boohee, a mobile healthcare company.
Previous investments which led to exits in Chinese companies include: Enorbus (acquired by Walt Disney); Aicent (acquired by TA Associates); and NetQin.
It also invested in Xiaomi, Thundersoft, MadHouse, CooTek, Yongche, Dolphin Browser, Alo7, and Hawkeye.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm will enhance investments in the semiconductor industry. Earlier, the chip maker made strategic investments in Chinese companies such as Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, a developer of semiconductor equipment.
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