XR Investments on Rise; Qualcomm, BGF Launch Development Funds

immersive XR experiences,” plus associated core AR and AI technologies. The company’s portfolio of related initiatives -- Snapdragon XR Platforms, the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform and XR Labs Europe -- were created to “strengthen the XR ecosystem," it said. Referencing a “new generation of spatial computing,” Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said the company is working to enable consumers and businesses to engage in the metaverse and allow the “physical and digital worlds to be connected.” Qualcomm’s fund will help foster innovation through venture investment and developer ecosystem grants for content projects, Amon said. Grant recipients may have access to nascent XR platform technology, hardware kits, a global network of investors, and co-marketing and promotion opportunities, he said. BGF, meanwhile, announced a $3 million investment in VR and AR learning business ARuVR, rebranded from Vrtuoso, it emailed Tuesday. It called ARuVR a turnkey XR and software-as-a-service platform that puts content creation, distribution and management "into the hands of the user,” allowing businesses to develop and deploy at-scale their own VR and AR learning experience, “with minimal training and in a matter of minutes.” The global market for XR was valued at $25.8 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $397.8 billion by 2026, BGF said, citing Mordor Intelligence data.