Notebookcheck Logo

Qualcomm announces a new, up-to-US$100 million Snapdragon Metaverse Fund alongside a new XR partnership with Square Enix

Qualcomm will help Square Enix will work on new XR projects. (Source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm will help Square Enix will work on new XR projects. (Source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm has unveiled a new program by which it will invest as much as US$100 million in developers or companies involved in the metaverse industry. The new fund is associated with other projects including Snapdragon XR Platforms, XR Labs Europe and the Snapdragon Spaces developer platform, the latter of which has also just been taken up by Square Enix as the studio works on its extended-reality (XR) portfolio.
Accessory AI Business Launch Software Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) Wearable

Square Enix has now indicated that it intends to extend what might become the next generation of its "engaging gameplay that [has] pushed the potential of new...platforms over each console generation" to the emerging fields of mixed, augmented and extended reality.

To this end, the studio has partnered with Qualcomm to start building for these disciplines using the Snapdragon Spaces XR developer's platform. It is one way in which Qualcomm has already started to establish its "ecosystem" for all things metaverse-related.

Qualcomm has also now announced that it intends to stay ahead of this game with the new Snapdragon Metaverse Fund, by which it might identify companies or developers with an output worth funneling into its existing XR resources or labs. It is geared at the creation of XR for business, healthcare and entertainment as well as gaming.

The fund might also be applied to those in the underlying augmented reality (AR) tech necessary for these "unique, immersive" products or services, not to mention the AI as necessary. The Snapdragon Metaverse Fund apparently consists of venture capital from Qualcomm Ventures and new Qualcomm Technologies grants for developers.

Related Articles

Prime ministers and presidents next? (Image Source: TechZone360)
Chinese gaming company NetDragon appoints virtual humanoid robot as CEO 09/08/2022
The Meta Quest 2. (Source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm and Meta partner up to complete next-gen Quest-series hardware 09/02/2022
Meta's growth expected to slow down in H2 2022. (Source: Meta)
"The headwinds are fierce": Meta alerts employees about tough times ahead in leaked internal memo 07/02/2022
A higher-quality display and new lens array will fundamentally improve the AR/VR experience. (Image source: Unsplash)
Meta Quest 2 Pro: Noted analyst offers features and price prediction list 06/24/2022
Just 1 title that might see a new owner soon. (Source: Sqaure Enix)
Square Enix puts Tomb Raider, its studio and much more up for sale in favor of new blockchain projects 05/07/2022
A leaked promo video for the Cambria headset offers an animated representation of what the device could look like. (Image source: RealiteVirtuelle - YouTube)
Project Cambria: 5 bold features to expect from Meta's next headset 05/05/2022
The Quest 2 could gain a VR Air Bridge for improved wireless connectivity with a PC. (Image source: Remy Gieling)
Meta Quest: VR Air Bridge details leak for Oculus VR headsets 04/22/2022
Now if we could just update manually without waiting for OTA software rollouts...(Image source: Unsplash)
Meta Quest v39: 4 features coming to a metaverse near you 04/14/2022
The Pico Neo 3 Link comes with controllers and a SteamVR-compatible cable in the box. (Image source: Pico Interactive)
Pico Neo 3 Link: New VR headset lands promising uncompressed video for €449 04/13/2022
The v39 Meta Quest update adds a new Mountain Study Home environment. (Image source: Meta Quest)
Meta Quest announces v39 update bringing Share to Headset to iOS devices 04/12/2022
LEGO is investing US$1 billion into Epic Games to build a children's metaverse (Image via PixelSquid.com w/ edits)
Sony and LEGO invest US$2 billion in Epic Games and kid-focused metaverse 04/11/2022
An exploded-view render of a oneday Mojo Lens. (Source: Mojo Vision)
Mojo Vision demos the most advanced prototype of its AR contact lens yet 04/08/2022
An upgraded version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 could in early May. (Image source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus: Release window revealed as details about launch partners also leak 03/25/2022
The Honor X8 runs on the outdated Magic UI 4.2 based on Android 11. (Image source: Honor)
Honor X8: Stylish smartphone presented with a 64 MP quad camera and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 SoC 03/11/2022
The Galaxy F23 has a 6.6-inch and 120 Hz display. (Image source: Samsung)
Samsung Galaxy F23: Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G powered smartphone unveiled with a 120 Hz display and a 50 MP triple camera set up 03/08/2022
A new Snapdragon X65 5G M.2 module. (Source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm combines Snapdragon 5G modems and M.2 cards to make connectivity upgrades in next-gen PCs easier 03/01/2022
Qualcomm presents its new Wi-Fi subsystem. (Source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm upgrades to Wi-Fi 7 support with its new "world-first" FastConnect 7800 solution 02/28/2022
The Snapdragon Wear 5100 and Wear 5100+ platforms are a long time coming. (Image source: Fossil)
Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 5100 and Wear 5100+ specifications leak with GPU improvements and promises of better battery life 02/22/2022
Qualcomm intends to boost the adoption of AR platforms. (Image Source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm announces Snapdragon XR1 AR Smart Viewer Reference Design glasses 02/24/2021
An overview of the XR viewer ecosystem. (Source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm previews a new line of smartphone-linked XR viewers for 2021 05/27/2020
The new Reference Design based on the Snapdragon XR2 platform. (Source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm brings 5G to headset gaming with its new Snapdragon XR2 Reference Design 02/27/2020
The Snapdragon XR2 5G Platform brings new extended reality experiences. (Source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm introduces the Snapdragon XR2 — the world's first 5G XR platform with 7 concurrent tracking cameras, 2x CPU and GPU performance, 3K@90 Hz display per eye, and added AI goodness 12/05/2019
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2022 03 > Qualcomm announces a new, up-to-US$100 million Snapdragon Metaverse Fund alongside a new XR partnership with Square Enix
Deirdre O'Donnell, 2022-03-21 (Update: 2022-03-21)