ANNUAL REPORT » DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION » LEFT FIELD LABS

Problem

By 2025, Qualcomm faced a gap between what its technology could do and what people believed it could do. Edge AI—AI that runs directly on a device instead of in the cloud—had been talked about for years, but many audiences still doubted it could work reliably in the real world. The concern was simple: could on-device AI handle live, high-volume use without crashing, slowing down, or relying on the cloud? After the success of Snapdragon Summit 2024, Qualcomm needed to go further. It had to prove, in public settings and under real pressure, that its edge AI was not a concept or a lab demo, but technology ready to be used at scale, with no room for error.

Solution

Left Field Labs designed a year-long program that put Qualcomm’s edge AI into live, unscripted situations where performance could not be controlled. Across SXSW, Computex Taipei, and Snapdragon Summit, all AI experiences ran entirely on Snapdragon laptops, with no cloud support. Each event increased the level of difficulty. At SXSW, the system powered a live, CEO-led Q&A, processing more than 2,000 audience questions in real time. At Computex, it generated responses to unscripted prompts on the show floor. At Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm delivered a fully agent-driven AI keynote and four hands-on experience zones. Across the 300+ sessions at the Qualcomm Summit, people directly engaged with live technology—using it, internalizing its capability, and building belief through direct experience.

Outcome

The year-long engagement showed that Qualcomm’s edge AI could perform reliably at scale. More than 2,000 people engaged at both SXSW and Computex Taipei, while Snapdragon Summit delivered a full-capacity keynote and 278 completed hands-on sessions. Across all events, the AI systems ran with 100% on-device processing and no cloud dependency. Even under heavy, concurrent use from thousands of users, median response time stayed between six and nine seconds. In total, the program reached over 8,000 stakeholders across consumers, developers, partners, and media, and earned coverage from global outlets including PCMag, which highlighted Qualcomm’s “You-Niverse” vision and its approach to AI as the primary user interface.