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Qualcomm, which is known for its chips in smartphones, also announced a deal with Humain, a Saudi-backed A.I. company. The news sent Qualcomm’s share price soaring.
Oct. 27, 2025Updated 4:18 p.m. ET
Qualcomm, a longtime kingpin in chips for smartphones, has largely missed out as demand has surged for chips used in data centers for artificial intelligence. Now it may finally be joining the party.
The San Diego company announced a new line of A.I. chips on Monday, sold in complete systems or as add-in cards for other computers, along with a major order for the technology from a high-profile company in Saudi Arabia.
Qualcomm’s shares initially jumped by more than 20 percent on the news, though the stock later closed the day up about 11 percent.
The reaction underscored the outsized investor interest in A.I. chips, driven by a multiyear sales boom that has pushed the market value of the dominant supplier, Nvidia, to more than $4.5 trillion. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices, one of Nvidia’s most credible competitors, have more than doubled this year.
Qualcomm has not fared as well, partly because the smartphone market has not been growing much lately. But Cristiano Amon, the company’s chief executive, has laid out several initiatives to diversify the business.
Qualcomm helped invent core technology used in cellular networks, selling modem chips that phones use to communicate. The company later combined that ability with basic computing functions, using technology licensed from the British company Arm Holdings.
