Qualcomm on Monday mentioned it plans to launch processors designed for information facilities to energy synthetic intelligence, which can hyperlink to Nvidia’s chips.
Nvidia’s graphics processing models (GPUs) have grow to be a crucial element in information facilities used to coach enormous AI fashions that energy purposes like chatbots. They’re typically paired with a central processing unit (CPU) — a market dominated by Intel and AMD.
Qualcomm mentioned it’s planning to launch a customized CPU for the info heart that may connect with Nvidia’s GPUs and software program. A hyperlink to Nvidia’s infrastructure is essential for any participant hoping to crack into the info heart given the relevance of the U.S. chip big’s semiconductors for AI.
The announcement really marks a re-entry into the info heart marketplace for Qualcomm after earlier efforts final decade bore little fruit.
In 2021, Qualcomm acquired Nuvia, which designs processors primarily based on Arm designs and has been key to the U.S. tech titan’s efforts with information heart CPUs.
“I feel we see numerous development taking place on this area for many years to return, and now we have some expertise that may add actual worth added,” Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, informed CNBC in an interview on Monday. “So I feel now we have a really disruptive CPU.”
Amon mentioned the corporate will make an announcement concerning the CPU roadmap and the timing of its launch “very quickly,” with out providing specifics.
The info heart CPU market stays extremely aggressive. Massive cloud computing gamers like Amazon and Microsoft already design and deploy their very own customized CPUs. AMD and Intel even have a powerful presence.
Addressing the competitors, Amon mentioned that there will probably be a spot for Qualcomm within the information heart CPU area.
“So long as … we are able to construct an amazing product, we are able to convey innovation, and we are able to add worth with some disruptive expertise, there’s going to be room for Qualcomm, particularly within the information heart,” Amon mentioned. “[It] is a really massive addressable market that can that can see numerous funding for many years to return.”
Final week, Qualcomm signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi-based AI frim Humain to develop information facilities, becoming a member of a slew of U.S. tech firms making offers within the area. Humain will function beneath Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund.
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon speaks at Computex 2025 in Taipei on Might 19, 2025.
Cheng Yu-chen | Afp | Getty Pictures
Moving into the info heart is a part of a broader technique from Qualcomm to diversify its enterprise, which has historically been dominated by gross sales of processors and modems for smartphones. Nonetheless, Apple, a key buyer of Qualcomm, is beginning to design its personal modems, whereas different gamers are taking a look at self-developed processors.
Mario Morales, group vice chairman of semiconductors and enabling applied sciences on the Worldwide Knowledge Company, mentioned that Qualcomm’s entrance into the info heart area is an effective transfer to assist its diversification — and that the market is massive sufficient for a brand new entrant.
“Over the approaching 5 years, the info heart would be the quickest rising phase for the semi market as an entire and within the final three years, we have seen the great development from Nvidia, however firms like Qualcomm haven’t benefited from that development as a result of they have not had a place within the area,” Morales mentioned.
“I feel this announcement begins to alter that, and I anticipate that a few of this expertise that they create to this particular market will in all probability probably come over the following couple years, as a result of it does take a while to ascertain a product roadmap and start to interact with prospects.”
Beneath CEO Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm has moved into chips for automobiles in addition to PCs — a market traditionally dominated by Intel.
Amon mentioned on Monday throughout at presentation at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan, that there are actually greater than 85 PC designs which are on sale or in growth with Snapdragon X Sequence chips, which have been first introduced in 2023. Amon additionally mentioned the corporate will announce a brand new PC chip throughout its annual summit in September.
Qualcomm is pitching its chips as energy environment friendly and able to working AI processes on a tool, relatively than within the cloud, the place they’re usually achieved now. Among the touted benefits of on-device AI embrace quicker AI apps and extra safety, since information would not want to go away a chunk of {hardware}.
