Qualcomm inks multi-year partnership with Uruguay for innovation ecosystem

US chipmaker Qualcomm inked a multi-year agreement with the government of Uruguay for the development of an innovation ecosystem in the country.

The partnership was signed this week by the president of Qualcomm LatAm, Luiz Tonisi, and Uruguay's industry, mines and energy minister, Omar Paganini.

The agreement’s main objective is “to install an open laboratory in the country,” the ministry reported in a release.

Such a lab, however, is not physical.

Qualcomm has not committed to building any development center in Uruguay, but rather to encourage exchanges between the private and public sectors and academia.

“Qualcomm seeks to collaborate with the Uruguayan government in establishing an ecosystem of dialogue between companies, universities and the government to promote the development and investment in the adoption of technology,” the company told BNamericas.

But Qualcomm is also taking its Qualcomm Advantage Network to Uruguay.

The program was created by the company to forge relationships and potentially contribute to the development of its plan in Uruguay, according to the ministry.

Advantage Network members include hardware manufacturers, software developers, cloud solution providers, system integrators, and design firms. These include companies offering solutions related to the automotive industry, audio, helmet-mounted displays, IoT, cameras, artificial intelligence, smart cities, wearables, RF frontend filters (RFFE) and extended reality (AR/VR), among others.

According to Qualcomm, the goal is to transform industries and business models with intelligence, computing and connectivity at the edge of the network.

Further details, such as deadlines, investments and concrete initiatives of the Qualcomm-Uruguay partnership, were not provided.

URUGUAY INNOVATION HUB

Through co-investment (VC), open research and development infrastructure, and acceleration programs, the hub vows to put the country at the forefront of the knowledge economy and turn it into a regional and global benchmark in innovation.

According to the government, it seeks to foster agreements between the public and private sectors to develop investment opportunities, innovation and accelerate ventures and projects in the key strategic sectors of biotechnology, green technologies, and deep technologies.

In June, Microsoft opened a co-innovation center for AI and IoT at the LATU technology laboratory in Montevideo under the Uruguayan program.

That center was the company's fourth for AI and IoT worldwide, the others being in the US, China and Germany.