Baidu's Xi Rang partners with Qualcomm to build next-gen metaverse infrastructure

Beijing (Gasgoo)- Baidu and Qualcomm recently signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Beijing to initiate comprehensive strategic cooperation in the XR (Extended Reality) field, according to Qualcomm’s announcement on September 15.

Signing ceremony; photo credit: Qualcomm

With this strategic partnership, both companies aim to embark on in-depth technological, market, and ecosystem collaborations in the future. These collaborations will encompass XR technology, generative AI, digital humans, and upstream and downstream industry synergies. Together, they plan to build the next-generation metaverse infrastructure platform, combining the metaverse, ecosystem, and industry applications.

Baidu's metaverse platform, Xi Rang, will integrate Snapdragon Spaces™ XR Developer Platform and innovative XR technologies supported by it. Leveraging its virtual space, cloud, AI technologies, and platform strengths, Xi Rang, in collaboration with Qualcomm, will explore broader applications and business solutions in sectors such as culture and tourism, education, and sports. Their goal is to provide users with rich, immersive, and diverse metaverse experiences, fostering the emergence of new formats, models, and scenarios in the Chinese metaverse industry.

Ding Zhigang, General Manager of Baidu Virtual Reality, expressed the company’s dedication to offering a cloud-integrated metaverse infrastructure for various industries. He emphasized Baidu’s commitment to continuous investment and collaboration in the metaverse domain, looking forward to unlocking more of the metaverse's potential through innovative experiences created with the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform.

Cheng Lixin, Global Senior Vice President at Qualcomm, highlighted that the strategic cooperation between Baidu's Xi Rang and Qualcomm China would inject vitality into the Chinese XR ecosystem. By utilizing the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform and open ecosystem collaboration, they aim to accelerate the development of XR applications and content for Xi Rang, further propelling the growth of the Chinese metaverse ecosystem.