Meta Platforms Inc. (META.O) and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM.O), which makes chips, signed a deal on Friday for Qualcomm to make custom chipsets for Meta’s Quest virtual reality (VR) devices. This was announced at a consumer electronics show in Berlin.
In a statement, the two companies said that their engineering and product teams will work together to make the chips. The chips will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platforms.
The agreement shows that Meta, which used to be called Facebook until last year, is dependent on Qualcomm’s technology, even though it is trying to make its own custom silicon for its virtual, augmented, and mixed reality devices.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, said in a video message that building VR is different from making mobile phones because it has new challenges in computing in space, cost, and size.
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“The metaverse is still in its early stages, and this kind of deep technical integration will help VR get closer to being a multipurpose computing platform,” he said.
Meta has been spending a lot of money on technologies like pass-through goggles and augmented reality glasses to bring Zuckerberg’s idea of the metaverse, which is a set of immersive digital worlds, to life.
It has used Qualcomm chips in its VR devices for a long time, including in its most recent Quest2 headset.
Meta spokesman Tyler Yee told Reuters that the chipsets made through the collaboration will not be exclusive to Meta, but they will be optimised for Quest’s system requirements.
No information was given about how much the deal would cost.
Yee said that the agreement only applies to VR devices, and Meta will keep working to make its own silicon solutions.
“There could be times when we use “off-the-shelf” silicon or work with partners in the industry to customise it, while also looking for our own unique silicon solutions. “There could also be times when we use both partner solutions and custom solutions in the same product,” said Yee.
