Qualcomm mentioned Wednesday that it plans to purchase startup Nuvia for $1.four billion, doubtlessly as a method to beef up its personal CPU efforts and problem Apple extra immediately within the Arm computing house.
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 together 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 vitality effectivity enhancements wanted to energy the following 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 needs to be authorised 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 an announcement.
For concerning the previous two years, Qualcomm has launched variations of its Snapdragon processors for the PC house, together with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 5G last September. However the firm’s guarantees of performance that would compete with traditional X86 chips like the Intel Core lineup didn’t pan out. In the meantime, Apple overturned the standard CPU market with its launch of the M1 chip, powering its MacBook and Mac mini computer systems and competing very well against Intel’s 11th-gen Core chips.
All of these efforts raised questions on how Qualcomm would continue to compete in opposition to an Apple M1 chip that considerably outperformed what Qualcomm needed to provide. With its buy of Nuvia, Qualcomm seems to be engaged on a solution.
