Qualcomm has announced its second annual international venture investment competition in India to identify the industry's most promising early-stage wireless technology companies. The Qualcomm Ventures QPrize competition is open to entrepreneurs in North America, Europe, China, South Korea, Israel and India and will provide up to US$750,000 in total seed funding to help entrepreneurs transform their innovative business plans into reality.
"The Indian market has significant potential to contribute to innovations in the wireless domain. With QPrize, we are able to identify promising early-stage companies and provide financing that helps them commercialize their products more quickly," said Karthee Madasamy, Director, India Investments, Qualcomm Ventures.
Kanwalinder Singh, President, Qualcomm India and South Asia and Senior Vice- President, Qualcomm, said, "It is Qualcomm's mission to foster innovation and advance the use of mobile technologies for the benefit of people and businesses worldwide. Initiatives such as QPrize enable us to spot breakthrough ideas at early stages, and help them grow by providing mentorship, investment support and exposure to the global wireless ecosystem. We look forward to encouraging participation from Indian entrepreneurs in QPrize this year, and to helping them transform their innovative ideas into commercial reality to accelerate the growth of the wireless industry."
QPrize spotlights upcoming industry leaders that have the potential to shape the future of wireless communications and significantly impact their regional markets, eventually growing into profitable companies. Qualcomm has tied up with Mumbai Angels to give this year's Indian QPrize finalist an opportunity to present to their investment committee.
Globally, Qualcomm has teamed with DEMO, the technology industry's premier launchpad for emerging technologies, to give QPrize finalists additional exposure within the venture community. QPrize finalists will be invited to DEMO Spring 2011 in California, USA where they will compete for the grand prize and receive an exhibit in the DEMO pavilion.
