MetaQuest is partnering with Qualcomm to produce custom chips for virtual reality devices, the companies announced Friday at the Consumer Electronics Conference in Berlin. The two companies’ engineering and manufacturing teams will work together to create the chips, which will run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is investing heavily in virtual and augmented reality as part of its efforts to create the “Metaverse.” A pair of AR (augmented reality) glasses is expected to be unveiled in 2024.
According to A Report According to Reuters, Meta and Qualcomm have signed a deal to build custom chipsets for Quest virtual reality devices, which will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform.
They will be specifically optimized for Quest’s system specifications, said Meta spokesman Tyler Yee. The deal reportedly only covers virtual reality devices — Meta is designing its own custom silicon chips to power the next generation of its augmented and virtual reality devices, he added.
“There may be situations where we use off-the-shelf silicon or work with industry partners on customization, as well as exploring our own new silicon solutions. There may also be situations where we use both partner and custom solutions in the same product,” Yei said. told Reuters.
Meta’s virtual reality devices, including the latest Quest 2 headset, use chips from Qualcomm. The firm’s Metaverse push also includes augmented reality glasses and goggles. Meta’s first generation of AR glasses, codenamed Project Nazre, is expected to arrive in 2024.
