Qualcomm Bets Big on AI’s Next Wave, Calling the Boom ‘Underestimated’
As Qualcomm doubles down on AI chips, CEO Cristiano Amon argues the world still underestimates how transformative AI will become.
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The global artificial intelligence boom, which has already added trillions in market value to tech giants like Nvidia, may still be vastly underestimated, according to Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon. Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Amon suggested that AI’s potential impact could mirror — and eventually surpass — the trajectory of the internet itself.
“AI is probably underestimated,” Amon said, comparing today’s AI surge to the early days of the web. “The internet is much bigger today than people thought,” he added, implying that AI’s long-term influence will extend far beyond current projections.
Investment banks share a similar outlook. Morgan Stanley, for instance, expects companies to spend roughly $3 trillion on data centers and AI infrastructure through 2028. That scale of investment has drawn parallels to the dot-com era’s exuberance — and the subsequent correction — but Amon dismissed fears of overbuilding. “AI needs a lot more computing power,” he said.
For Qualcomm, the strategic bet is clear: the company aims to move from being primarily a smartphone chip supplier to an integral part of the AI hardware ecosystem. Last month, Qualcomm unveiled a new line of AI processors designed to compete directly with Nvidia’s dominant GPUs.
Its first major client will be Humain, a Saudi Arabian AI startup backed by the state, which plans to use Qualcomm’s chips as the foundation of a large-scale AI inferencing service. The announcement sent Qualcomm’s shares soaring more than 11% in a single day — their sharpest rise in 15 months — highlighting investor enthusiasm for AI-aligned strategies.
The company’s AI ambitions also extend to the consumer frontier, where Amon envisions a new era of “personal AI devices,” including Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, powered by Qualcomm processors.
While Qualcomm remains a pioneer in cellular technology, its pivot reflects a shift. As growth in the smartphone market slows, the company’s renewed focus on AI signals an effort to reposition itself at the core of the next computing phase.
