Alphawave acquisition is “complementary” to Qualcomm’s CPUs and NPUs, CEO says
Qualcomm is taking purpose on the information middle chip area, in search of to bolster its property with the acquisition of knowledge middle chip specialist Alphawave Semi in a transaction that values the latter firm at $2.4 billion.
It was only a few weeks in the past that Qualcomm moved to re-enter the customized CPU market for information facilities, with the announcement that it would construct customized CPUs that tie in with Nvidia’s options. Qualcomm additionally struck a deal to develop information middle and chip infrastructure with Saudi synthetic intelligence agency Humain, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund.
“We’re increasing into the information middle,” Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm, mentioned within the remaining jiffy of his keynote presentation on the current Computex convention, with a single slide on the subject which referred to as that enlargement “the subsequent step in our diversification.” He in contrast Qualcomm’s transfer into that market to its transfer into the established PC market. “If we had one thing distinctive and disruptive, there’s room for Qualcomm,” he mentioned. “And I feel that’s precisely the strategy we’re taking for the information middle.”
He mentioned that the corporate has “some very fascinating IP” within the CPU area, which he mentioned turns into more and more vital together with clusters for inference which have very excessive efficiency however low energy. “Keep tuned, we’re busy. We’re engaged on this,” he advised the Computex crowd. (Watch that keynote in full right here.)
Now comes the Alphawave Semi announcement, which additional indicators Qualcomm’s ambitions within the information middle chip market. The corporate had earlier forays into the area, together with the launch of its Centriq processors again in 2017. In 2021, Qualcomm purchased silicon startup Nuvia for its CPU tech, framing that acquisition as “redefining computing” within the 5G period. Nevertheless, Nuvia’s use of Arm-based information middle CPUs led to an prolonged authorized conflict with Arm over licensing.
Qualcomm mentioned that Alphawave Semi’s product portfolio will complement its personal buyer Oryon CPUs and Hexagon Neural Processing Unit (NPU) processors. These processors, the corporate mentioned in a press release, “are properly positioned to satisfy the rising demand for high-performance, low-power computing, which is being pushed by a speedy enhance in AI inferencing and the transition to customized CPUs in information facilities.”
“Qualcomm’s acquisition of Alphawave Semi represents a major milestone for us and a chance for our enterprise to hitch forces with a revered business chief and drive worth to our clients,” mentioned Tony Pialis, president and CEO of Alphawave Semi. “By combining our assets and experience, we shall be well-positioned to increase our product choices, attain a broader buyer base, and improve our technological capabilities. Collectively, we are going to unlock new alternatives for development, drive innovation, and create a number one participant in AI compute and connectivity options.”
Alphawave Semi’s merchandise are important infrastructure for makes use of from information facilities and information networking to information storage, Qualcomm mentioned.
“Beneath Tony’s management Alphawave Semi has developed main high-speed wired connectivity and compute applied sciences which can be complementary to our power-efficient CPU and NPU cores,” mentioned Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm. “Qualcomm’s superior customized processors are a pure match for information middle workloads. The mixed groups share the purpose of constructing superior expertise options and enabling next-level linked computing efficiency throughout a big selection of excessive development areas, together with information middle infrastructure.”
SemiAnalysis Analyst Sravan Kundojalla mentioned in messages with RCR Wi-fi Information that Qualcomm’s earlier efforts within the information middle CPU market have been placed on maintain for a number of years as a result of the corporate’s administration needed to concentrate on coping with a number of points in its core enterprise and defending its positions within the automotive and IoT markets.
“Qualcomm re-entered the server CPU market this yr to capitalize on AI frenzy,” Kundojalla mentioned. “As of immediately, Qualcomm’s DC income is close to zero. It will likely be the case for the subsequent 2-3 years because it has to construct the software program stack, business ecosystem and construct a coherent AI technique utilizing server CPU, AI inference and Alphawave’s networking IP.”
Kundojalla additionally famous that Alphawave works intently with Arm and is a licensee of Arm’s IP. (Reuters has reported that as lately as this spring, Arm sought to amass Alphawave Semi for itself.) That relationship between Alphawave and Arm, he mentioned, might arrange a licensing pricing battle just like the one kicked off with Qualcomm purchased Nuvia.
Qualcomm expects the acquisition of Alphawave Semi to shut throughout the first quarter of 2026.
