The past year has shown that extended reality (XR), encompassing augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), is capturing the imagination of users and investors alike, with use cases abounding and market opportunities proliferating as more and more companies discover applications that might help their operations or serve their customers. To tap into this, Telefónica and Qualcomm Technologies have announced a collaboration to strengthen their position as leaders in the future of XR and the metaverse.

The partnership will see the firms work together to develop and grow the XR ecosystem using the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform and Telefónica’s fixed and mobile network infrastructure. The agreement also includes exploration of joint commercial opportunities and the launch of XR/metaverse products and services.

Telefónica says it sees many possibilities in combining immersive devices with powerful networks and decentralised Web3 technologies. This agreement opens the opportunity to deliver new experiences to customers merging the digital and analogue worlds, reimagining commerce, entertainment and communication in the metaverse.

For its part, Qualcomm Technologies believes the Snapdragon Spaces platform can empower developers to unlock the full potential of wearable AR using industry-leading technology, cross-device SDK, and an open XR ecosystem. The company says this will enable developers to pioneer innovative experiences that will lead the next generation of immersive technology.

In this regard, both companies are working to bring Snapdragon Spaces to different initiatives that are part of the Telefónica Innovation and Talent Hub, such as its core and open innovation programmes, and the computer programming campus 42. This will help to grow the Snapdragon Spaces ecosystem and foster the development of new products and services on XR, which Telefónica can test and commercialise with its consumer and business customers.

“XR will bring a new dimension to the digital and real world, enabling people to communicate, do business, socialise and entertain themselves in new ways,” said Daniel Hernández, vice-president devices and consumer IoT at Telefónica. “We are preparing for this future, building the infrastructure, upskilling the teams, evolving our services and putting in place the partnerships which will enable us to bring innovative new devices and services to customers. 

“Qualcomm Technologies has played a critical role at each stage in development of our industry and our collaboration with Snapdragon Spaces will help to drive growth in the emerging XR ecosystem and realise the next evolution of the internet, the metaverse.”

Dino Flore, vice-president, technology at Qualcomm Europe, added: “XR will redefine how we live, work and socialise. At a crucial time in the technology’s development and roll-out, we are excited to be partnering with Telefónica to grow the active communities developing the ecosystems of the future through Snapdragon Spaces, which we believe will unlock the power of XR and take it to the next level.”