About the Qualcomm AI Program for Innovators

The Qualcomm AI Program for Innovators (QAIPI) empowers professional developers and startups to design and implement cutting-edge on-device AI solutions across diverse sectors including consumer electronics, healthcare, smart industry, smart city, agriculture and education, driving regional and societal impact.

QAIPI  2026 - LatAm

The QAIPI 2026 -LatAm is open to startup companies incorporated and registered in Mexico or Brazil with an active account in Qualcomm® AI Hub.

The program is implemented to support startups in creating and commercializing on-device end-to-end AI solutions on Qualcomm Dragonwing™ and Snapdragon® platforms.

The program also invites shortlisted teams to experiment with a wide range of edge AI use cases using the new Arduino® UNO™ Q development board. Built on Dragonwing™ platforms, this open-source board offers Linux compatibility, real-time control capabilities, and lightweight AI inference, empowering startups to accelerate the creation of edge-intelligent solutions.

To speed up the development of on-device AI solutions across diverse use cases, startup teams can leverage the Qualcomm® AI Hub, a developer-focused platform offering a growing catalog with pre-optimized AI models, alongside Edge Impulse, a leading platform for building and deploying tinyML and edge‑AI models from real‑world sensor data, the Arduino® Project Hub, and curated GitHub® repositories with optimized models and end‑to‑end demos These resources help reduce time and effort, enabling faster development, deployment, and iteration cycles.

Program Benefits

Startup Cohort: Select startups may be invited to a jury panel as part of the shortlisting process. Up to 10 startups will be shortlisted to the cohort.

Development Support: 1:1 technical support for up to 6 months with the subject matter experts.

Platforms: The shortlisted startups will receive a physical hardware or development kit powered by Qualcomm for product development as mutually agreed upon.

Online Trainings & Masterclasses: A self-paced online training on business and marketing topics and fund raising. The technical trainings include IoT, 5G and 6G, XR, Qualcomm AI-Hub, Edge Impulse through Qualcomm Academy. Startups would be expected to complete these training courses as these would count towards stipend eligibility.

Stipend: The shortlisted startups to the cohort will receive a stipend of up to $5000 upon meeting the minimum eligibility requirements of the program.

Patent Filing Incentive: The shortlisted selected startups would be eligible to receive patent filing incentive of up to $5000 for a full utility patent application.

Program Details:

  • Cohort Selection: Up to 10 edge-AI startups
  • Mentorship: 1:1 guidance from Qualcomm experts: Technical, Business, Intellectual Property
  • Training/masterclasses: Online business coaching, IP law, and technical sessions.
  • Grants: $5000 Stipend and $5000 Patent Filing incentive for complete patent filings
  • Program certificate upon completion
  • Demo-day + Finale: Exposure to industry leaders, integrators, and investors.
  • Listing in Qualcomm startup directory, access to industry events

Timeline

Application Phase: February 25th to May 4th, 2026

Shortlisting of the Startups: May 2026

Development Phase (including mid-term review): May 2026 to October 2026

Program Finale & Demo Day: November 2026 (TBD)

Please see the AIPI official rules in Portuguese and Spanish.