Qualcomm mentioned Wednesday that it plans to purchase startup Nuvia for $1.4 billion, doubtlessly as a approach to beef up its personal CPU efforts and problem Apple extra straight within the Arm computing area.
Nuvia was based by an ex-Apple chip architect, Gerard Williams III, who was reportedly pushed into designing server chips due to a non-compete clause that he had signed along with his former employer. Nuvia’s mission is, in its phrases, to “reimagine silicon design to create a brand new class of processor that delivers the step-function efficiency and power effectivity enhancements wanted to energy the subsequent period of computing.” Nuvia has by no means introduced a product, although it was suspected to be creating its personal Arm CPU for knowledge facilities.
Nuvia CPUs are anticipated to be built-in throughout Qualcomm Applied sciences’ broad portfolio of merchandise, together with PCs. Qualcomm mentioned Nuvia’s expertise could be concerned in “powering flagship smartphones, next-generation laptops, and digital cockpits, in addition to Superior Driver Help Techniques, prolonged actuality and infrastructure networking options.”
Qualcomm lined up assist from effectively over a dozen companions, together with Microsoft, Google, OnePlus, Sharp, Sony, Xiaomi, and others to assist the transfer. The deal nonetheless must be accredited by regulatory companies.
“Collectively, we’re very effectively positioned to redefine computing and allow our ecosystem of companions to drive innovation and ship a brand new class of merchandise and experiences for the 5G period,” mentioned Cristiano Amon, the newly appointed “chief executive-elect” of Qualcomm, in a press release.
For concerning the previous two years, Qualcomm has launched variations of its Snapdragon processors for the PC area, together with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 5G final September. However the firm’s guarantees of efficiency that might compete with conventional X86 chips just like the Intel Core lineup didn’t pan out. In the meantime, Apple overturned the normal CPU market with its launch of the M1 chip, powering its MacBook and Mac mini computer systems and competing very effectively towards Intel’s Eleventh-gen Core chips.
All of these efforts raised questions on how Qualcomm would proceed to compete towards an Apple M1 chip that considerably outperformed what Qualcomm needed to supply. With its buy of Nuvia, Qualcomm seems to be engaged on a solution.
