It looks like QCOM is suggesting they have a advancement in faster memory access also.
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Qualcomm shares jump as it launches new AI chip to rival Nvidia
San Diego-based tech company strikes deal to sell new data centre processor to Saudi group Humain
 Qualcomm is one of several chip companies looking to catch up with Nvidia’s huge lead in AI infrastructure © Dado Ruvic/Reuters
current progress 100%
Michael Acton in San Francisco
Publishedyesterday
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Qualcomm’s shares surged as much as 20 per cent on Monday as the US chip company launched its first data-centre processors for artificial intelligence, seeking to grab a share of a multibillion-dollar market dominated by Nvidia.
Saudi Arabia’s Humain, an AI company backed by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, will be Qualcomm’s first customer, as they build on a partnership announced in May.
Qualcomm’s stock, which was trading around 12 per cent higher by midday in New York, made its biggest one-day move for several years in response to the news, adding tens of billions of dollars to push its market capitalisation above $200bn.
Investors see the chip group, which is best known for its smartphone processors, moving to diversify its products and benefit from the AI infrastructure boom, including a recent surge in investment in “sovereign AI”.
So far, Nvidia has been the primary beneficiary of the AI boom, with analysts estimating that it holds more than three-quarters of the market for the specialised processors needed to train and run large language models, the systems behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
Qualcomm’s launch is the latest example of how rivals are trying to narrow that lead, after OpenAI struck AI chip deals with AMD and Broadcom in recent weeks.
Humain plans to deploy 200 megawatts of Qualcomm’s new AI accelerators starting in 2026, as the Gulf state seeks to position itself as a hub for artificial intelligence.
“By establishing advanced AI data centres powered by Qualcomm’s industry-leading inference solutions, we are helping the kingdom create a technology ecosystem that will accelerate its AI ambitions of becoming a hub of intelligent computing,” said Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon.
The announcement follows a state visit to the Middle East by US President Donald Trump in May, when he was accompanied by US tech leaders including Amon. Qualcomm and Humain at the time struck a memorandum of understanding to deliver advanced AI data centres.
Qualcomm’s AI200 and AI250 chips will launch in 2026 and 2027 respectively, promising to help AI applications run faster.
The products will be available in rack-scale, liquid-cooled formats, mirroring how Nvidia and its competitors have moved towards offering multiple chips connected up inside a server rack.
Qualcomm says it is now committed to annual launches of AI chips, following a pattern established by Nvidia.
The AI250 will also offer a new memory architecture that Qualcomm says will bring a “generational leap in efficiency and performance”. Memory has emerged as one of the key constraints on the speed and capability of AI chips.
Massive investment in data centres by Big Tech groups as well as nation states has catapulted Nvidia past a record $4tn valuation. But rivals such as AMD, as well as Nvidia’s own customers including Amazon and OpenAI, are developing their own AI processors.
Shares in UK-based Arm, whose chip blueprints are used by Qualcomm to design its chips, also rose around 4.5 per cent on Monday. Nvidia shares were up around 2.5 per cent. |
