A consortium of mobile operators teamed with Qualcomm to identify start-up companies across the XR sector in a bid to spur innovation and accelerate the growth of products and services.

The Alaian alliance partnered with Qualcomm to find XR use cases in the metaverse, gaming, entertainment, industry and manufacturing, logistics, retail, digital social experiences, connectivity, networking, devices and virtual platforms, among other applications and services.

It is also seeking connectivity tools and software to enhance the deployment of XR products and services across home-based mass entertainment and sustainability tools for large enterprises.

The start-ups selected by the two companies will have access to the operators’ resources including network of contacts, connectivity and infrastructure, and potential capital investment from Alaian’s members investment vehicles

Start-ups will also gain exposure to training programs for entrepreneurs and access to business development initiatives by the operators.

In addition, Qualcomm will provide dedicated engineering support to help companies overcome technical challenges and maximise the potential of their projects.

Companies will also be able to take part in a programme offering resources to accelerate start-up growth.

Douglas Vaz Benitez, Qualcomm Europe’s senior director of business development, noted it has XR R&D centres in Europe to help companies create “immersive applications in a faster, easier and more profitable way”.

Alaian was formed by Bouygues Telecom, Cellnex, KPN, MTN Group, NOS, Saudi Telecom Company, Telefonica and Wind Tre in 2022 to share best practices and use cases on the latest technologies.