Qualcomm: From Chipmaker to Dog Catcher

Qualcomm is best known for designing the radio chips inside many Android smartphones, Apple’s iPhone, and Amazon.com’s Kindle—which has helped the chipmaker reach $15 billion in annual sales. Pet owners may come to know Qualcomm as the company that helps find their lost cats and dogs. Its new Tagg device, an attachment for pet collars, retails for $200 and uses a GPS chip to track an animal’s whereabouts. If Fido leaves a designated area, the service alerts owners with an e-mail or text message.

San Diego-based Qualcomm doesn’t expect Tagg to be the next billion-dollar sensation or consumer products to displace its lucrative business as a chip supplier. Rather, Tagg is part of a broader effort to build demand for mobile radios and processors outside traditional telecom gadgets. If pet owners see the value of a radio chip inside a collar, the thinking goes, companies might start creating networked dishwashers and light bulbs, too. Qualcomm hopes to “catalyze the industry” to think of new uses for its chips, says Senior Vice-President Bill Davidson.