After successfully completing the first edition of the Qualcomm Design in India Challenge, the company announced an investment of $8.5 million for its second edition, where the challenge will focus on rural technology, biometric devices, payment terminals, agriculture technology, medical technology, and smart infrastructure.
“Qualcomm Design in India Challenge is one of the most successful initiatives by Qualcomm to nurture some of the talented startups in India. After seeing the overpowering response during the 2016 edition, we decided to go ahead with a second year, as well as expanding the number of participants Qualcomm nurtures through this program from 10 to 16 participants in 2017,” announced Qualcomm Technologies‘ senior vice president and president of Asia Pacific and India Jim Cathey in his statement.

The company plans to support mobile and IoT vendors in India by providing advanced cameras, audio, and RF designs at its new Innovation Lab to be set up in the southern city of Hyderabad, as well as at its current Innovation Lab in Bangalore which will be expanded to support the initiative, reports the Economic Times.