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Qualcomm to invest $90 million in S. Korean start-ups

July 1, 2015

Qualcomm Executive Chairman Paul Jacobs, right, poses with Growth Ladder Fund's Kim Young-duk, after signing of a MOU. (Courtesy of Qualcomm)

Qualcomm Executive Chairman Paul Jacobs, right, poses with Growth Ladder Fund’s Kim Young-duk. (Courtesy of Qualcomm)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — U.S. tech giant Qualcomm Inc. said Wednesday it plans to invest 100 billion won (US$89.5 million) in South Korea-based start-ups as part of its efforts to foster enterpreneurship and mobile technology in the country.

Under the move, Qualcomm will make a direct investment of about 50 billion won over the “next few years” through Qualcomm Ventures in local start-ups.

Also in line with the effort, Qualcomm said it will join forces with various local start-up funds to “foster the mobile ecosystem in the country.”

“With our latest investments, Qualcomm is expanding our commitment to the newest generations of Korean innovators. Korea is a vibrant country with a community of ambitious and talented entrepreneurs, and we will enable their visions with our partnerships, our technologies and our funds,” said Paul Jacobs, who heads Qualcomm.

Qualcomm said it has already made some 12 investments in South Korean firms over the past four years in various fields, including mobile applications and games. In a separate move, the firm also invested 10 billion won in three South Korean ventures in the first half of 2015.