Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) CEO Cristiano Amon said the company is developing more than 40 new AI-powered devices, betting that consumers will increasingly adopt smaller, personalized AI hardware.
In an interview on CNBC’s “The Tech Download” podcast on Monday, Amon discussed the changing role of smartphones and apps, and the potential of smart glasses as the next big consumer device.
He also highlighted the need for changes in chip architectures to accommodate these smaller gadgets. Amon suggested that the rise of AI devices could bring new players into the consumer market, posing challenges for major smartphone manufacturers like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. (OTC:SSNLF).
Amon said future AI devices could include smart jewelry, camera-equipped earbuds, pins, and watches that act as personal AI agents, understanding user intent and performing tasks without relying on traditional apps.
“Right now, we have over 40 designs of those devices, and I’m telling you, the types of form factors are very, very broad,” Amon said.
The CEO further said AI agents could transform how people use apps by handling tasks directly without requiring users to navigate an app. While apps will continue to exist, Amon believes they will evolve, with AI agents increasingly becoming the primary interface for completing tasks.
Apps are “not dead,” Amon said, “but apps are going to change.”
AI Push Drives Qualcomm Strategy
Emphasizing the need for more powerful and energy-efficient chips for these smaller form factor devices, Amon revealed that Qualcomm’s entire roadmap is currently undergoing an upgrade to prepare for this future.
On Monday, The Information reported that Qualcomm is in talks to acquire AI chip startup Tenstorrent for $8 billion to $10 billion. The negotiations are still ongoing, and the deal’s valuation could change or collapse altogether. It remains unclear whether the final price would include performance-based milestone payments, a common feature in past chip startup acquisitions, according to the report.
Qualcomm and Tenstorrent did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s requests for comment.
In May, Qualcomm reportedly reached a deal to supply TikTok parent ByteDance with application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for AI data centers.
While in In April, the company had inked a multi-year deal with Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) to power future generations of “Specs” with Snapdragon system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions. The collaboration aimed to bring advanced intelligent computing to wearable hardware, marking the first flagship engagement for Specs.
QCOM Price Action: The stock gained 4.07% in Tuesday’s pre-market trading session. On a year-to-date basis, it surged 27.65%, as per data from Benzinga Pro.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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