Qualcomm's Vice President of XR business division, Hugo Swart, has announced that he is leaving the company. This is an important time for the company, as Qualcomm is looking at major XR headset launches, including Samsung's first XR headset, in the coming months.
Qualcomm's VP of XR leaving the company at a crucial moment
Hugo Swart has been with Qualcomm for 20 years, and he is leaving (via RoadToVR) the company at a crucial time. A few months ago, the company announced the XR2 Gen 2 processor for XR devices, and it has already been used in the Meta Quest 3. A few weeks ago, the company unveiled the XR2+ Gen 2 processor for even more powerful mixed-reality headsets, and it is expected that Samsung's first XR headset will use this chip. Swart has been the driving force behind these chips. Under his leadership, Qualcomm worked closely with Meta, and all Quest headsets have used Snapdragon chips.
Alex Katouzian, Group General Manager of the Mobile, XR, and Compute Business Unit, will now oversee the XR business at Qualcomm after the departure of Hugo Swart. The success of Samsung's first XR headset is important for Qualcomm, as that will lead to the company's establishment as the de facto leader in the XR headset segment.
Apple launched its first XR headset, the Vision Pro, a few weeks ago and has received favorable reviews and some disappointments. But there is space for more players in the industry, and Samsung's success will lead to more revenue for Qualcomm. Last year, Samsung teased an XR headset in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, and that headset is expected to launch later this year.
