Alphawave acquisition is “complementary” to Qualcomm’s CPUs and NPUs, CEO says
Qualcomm is taking goal on the knowledge middle chip area, in search of to bolster its belongings with the acquisition of information middle chip specialist Alphawave Semi in a transaction that values the latter firm at $2.4 billion.
It was just some weeks in the past that Qualcomm moved to re-enter the customized CPU market for knowledge facilities, with the announcement that it would construct customized CPUs that tie in with Nvidia’s options. Qualcomm additionally struck a deal to develop knowledge middle and chip infrastructure with Saudi synthetic intelligence agency Humain, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund.
“We’re increasing into the info middle,” Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm, mentioned within the remaining couple of minutes of his keynote presentation on the current Computex convention, with a single slide on the subject which referred to as that growth “the following 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 method we’re taking for the info middle.”
He mentioned that the corporate has “some very fascinating IP” within the CPU area, which he mentioned turns into more and more necessary together with clusters for inference which have very excessive efficiency however low energy. “Keep tuned, we’re busy. We’re engaged on this,” he instructed the Computex crowd. (Watch that keynote in full right here.)
Now comes the Alphawave Semi announcement, which additional indicators Qualcomm’s ambitions within the knowledge 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. Nonetheless, Nuvia’s use of Arm-based knowledge 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 an announcement, “are effectively positioned to satisfy the rising demand for high-performance, low-power computing, which is being pushed by a fast enhance in AI inferencing and the transition to customized CPUs in knowledge facilities.”
“Qualcomm’s acquisition of Alphawave Semi represents a big milestone for us and a chance for our enterprise to hitch forces with a revered trade chief and drive worth to our clients,” mentioned Tony Pialis, president and CEO of Alphawave Semi. “By combining our sources and experience, we shall be well-positioned to increase our product choices, attain a broader buyer base, and improve our technological capabilities. Collectively, we’ll 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 knowledge facilities and knowledge networking to knowledge storage, Qualcomm mentioned.
“Below Tony’s management Alphawave Semi has developed main high-speed wired connectivity and compute applied sciences which might 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 knowledge middle workloads. The mixed groups share the aim of constructing superior know-how options and enabling next-level related computing efficiency throughout a wide selection of excessive development areas, together with knowledge middle infrastructure.”
SemiAnalysis Analyst Sravan Kundojalla mentioned in messages with RCR Wi-fi Information that Qualcomm’s earlier efforts within the knowledge 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 in the present day, Qualcomm’s DC income is close to zero. Will probably be the case for the following 2-3 years because it has to construct the software program stack, trade 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 just lately as this spring, Arm sought to accumulate Alphawave Semi for itself.) That relationship between Alphawave and Arm, he mentioned, may arrange a licensing pricing battle much like the one kicked off with Qualcomm purchased Nuvia.
Qualcomm expects the acquisition of Alphawave Semi to shut throughout the first quarter of 2026.
