MC EXCLUSIVE US chipmaker Qualcomm to expand R&D and startup investments in India

Qualcomm,

American chipmaker Qualcomm is ramping up investments in India, both in research and development (R&D) and startups, as it diversifies beyond smartphones. The company plans to expand resources across its four R&D centers, leveraging local engineering talent to drive global innovation, CFO and COO Akash Palhkiwala told Moneycontrol.

Through Qualcomm Ventures, it is actively scouting and funding Indian startups, providing not just capital but engineering support to help them succeed.

India will remain one of Qualcomm’s fastest-growing markets, driven by a large under-30 consumer base seeking new smartphones and laptops. With this combined push in R&D, AI, and startup engagement, Qualcomm is positioning India as a strategic hub for innovation and market growth.

“We’ve grown very significantly in India over the last 20 years, and also over the last five years. The reason is relatively simple: the talent pool is incredible. Secondly, we have so many strong customers here, and we want engineering to be close to customers to support them. I don’t see any of that changing. As we continue to grow as a company, we’re going to need different skill sets, and those are available in India, so we’ll tap into them,” Palkhiwala told Moneycontrol.

Qualcomm is also aggressively scouting and investing in Indian startups through Qualcomm Ventures. “When we invest, we don’t just put money in—we also provide engineering support. We want the company to be successful. That’s the model,” he said.

Qualcomm Ventures has previously undertaken several India-focused initiatives, including a $150 million venture fund launched in 2015 to support Indian startups and the Digital India initiative.
While no update on the fund corpus was announced, Palkiwala said the company will invest more in India in the future than in the past. “There isn’t a specific target, but if your question is whether we’ll invest more in the future than we have in the past—the answer is absolutely yes,” he added.

Asked whether this means more investments, he confirmed, “Yes.” On Qualcomm Ventures’ approach to investing in Indian startups, he emphasized, “It’s about finding the right opportunities and investing in them. When we invest, we don’t just put money in—we also provide engineering support. We want the company to be successful.”

On the contribution of India’s four R&D centers to global projects, Palkiwala said, “We’ve grown very, very significantly in India over the last 20 years, and also over the last five years. The talent pool is incredible, and we have strong customers here, so we want engineering close to them. As we continue to grow, we’ll need different skill sets, and those are available in India, so we’ll tap into them.”

Palkhiwala explained Qualcomm’s global investment strategy: “Think about Qualcomm as a very technology-first company. We first decide what technology investments are needed to transform and shape the future. Then we decide where to invest to make those things happen. Location or scale comes later—technology comes first.”

Looking ahead, India is set to remain a critical market. “It’s one of the fastest-growing markets for us because it’s transforming so quickly. It has a very large consumer base under 30 years old, and they want the best experiences. They’re not looking to compromise or buy lower-tier devices. That’s great for us because it allows us to contribute to societal change and benefit financially,” Palkhiwala said.

On AI, he added that Qualcomm’s Indian engineering teams are working across personal, industrial, and physical AI at scale, creating solutions not just for India but for global markets. “There’s tremendous opportunity, and India will be very important in all three areas,” he noted.