Qualcomm to open R&D center in South Korea

• Posted: Monday, February 01, 2010
• |
• Author: pradhana
• |
• Filed under: Qualcomm

By Phil Goldstein

Qualcomm will launch a research and development facility in South Korea to work on next generation mobile chip technology, striving to forge ahead in a country where it was stung by antitrust regulators last year. The company also is going invest around $4 million in local chip maker Pulsus Technologies.

Qualcomm said it will open the R&D center with the cooperation of the South Korean government, researchers and academics, but it did not provide details on the amount it would invest in the facility. The company will be working on new mobile communication technologies, including mobile applications and multimedia, at the facility. The chip maker has a similar R&D plant in China.

The investment in the country is not entirely a surprise. Last spring, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said the company was looking at potential investments in South Korean wireless and health care companies. However, the investment is a visible signal that the company is looking to continue to expand its presence in the country months after antitrust regulators at the South Korean Fair Trade Commission fined Qualcomm $208 million for engaging in "unfair" business practices related to its chipset sales.

Last week, Qualcomm posted revenues of $2.67 billion for its fiscal first quarter, up 6 percent year-over-year and down 1 percent sequentially. The company's stock took a hit though after Qualcomm lowered it fiscal year revenue expectations due to what it said was tightened competition and economic struggles in Europe and Japan.[FierceWireless]

• Permalink
• RSS 2.0
• 
• 
• 
• 
•