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New Delhi: US chipmaker Qualcomm Inc has set aside $150 million for a dedicated venture capital fund targeting artificial intelligence startups in India, chief executive Cristiano Amon said on Wednesday.

The announcement, made during Amon’s visit to India, comes after a spate of investment announcements on Tuesday, including the expansion of India Deep-Tech Alliance (IDTA)’s $1-billion fund for AI startups, and Peak XV Partners investing $13 million in five early-stage AI ventures.

“AI is entering a new phase, where intelligence is built directly into devices and systems that people depend on everyday—from smartphones and PCs to cars, machines and robots. This delivers richer and more meaningful experiences, and the shift to AI will reshape industries. India’s startup ecosystem has a critical role to play in it, as AI drives innovation across sectors,” Amon said in a briefing statement.

The fund, the top executive added, will be operated by Qualcomm Ventures—the venture capital division of the chipmaker, and be made available in India as a ‘strategic AI ventures fund’.

Also Read | Vinod Khosla predicts AI will kill Indian IT sector in five years

Qualcomm is a stakeholder in Mukesh Ambani-led Jio Platforms Ltd, having invested $98 million for a 0.15% stake in the company in December 2021.

In a statement emailed to Mint, the company said that it has invested in “more than 40 companies in India since incorporating here in 2007,” including mapping services firm MapMyIndia, drone maker IdeaForge, and logistics services firm Shadowfax, among others.

To be sure, this is the second private venture capital fund dedicated to AI startups announced in two days, after IDTA committed to invest $1 billion in AI only, over three years.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the deep-tech sector will see private capital investments of $17 billion, without specifying a timeline for it.

Also Read | Inside India’s booming corporate AI upskilling market

Why investors are bullish

Investors sounded bullish on the growth of homegrown ventures in the near future. Rajan Anandan, managing director at Peak XV, said in an emailed statement on Tuesday that “with over 900 million Indians online, the real opportunity lies in solving real needs, helping people find jobs, grow income, and build businesses using AI. This focus on meeting the real needs of Indian users and building products at population scale is what will define India’s leadership in AI.”

Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures and cofounder of Sun Microsystems, said in an interview with Mint on Tuesday that AI makes for a major investment opportunity for private ventures, but “through a philanthropic lens.”

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“India must leverage its Aadhaar stack to build AI for public services. Sectors such as education, access to healthcare and the likes cannot be resolved as frugally as what AI can do, for a country of India’s scale. For this, private venture capital investors must double-down on building and running India’s AI stack, but from an angle of philanthropy,” Khosla said.

Qualcomm did not say whether it has already made investments from its new India-only AI VC fund, or whether it scouted for AI startups at the ongoing India AI Impact Summit.

Exhibitors on the summit’s show floor, however, were left disappointed on day two of the event, claiming it lacked the global executives and investors they expected to see at the venue.

Among other global participants, fellow chipmaker Nvidia announced a series of computing partnerships with top Indian conglomerates, including Reliance New Energy and Larsen & Toubro Semiconductor. However, Nvidia, which had joined IDTA in November last year, did not announce any pledge to invest in Indian AI ventures at the ongoing summit.

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