Qualcomm is flexing its tech muscles beyond phones! On Monday, the chip giant unveiled two AI-powered chips for data centers: the AI200 and AI250. 🚀
Shares jumped 20%, showing investors are hyped about Qualcomm's AI bets. These new chips are built for serious AI tasks, like running chatbots and language models, with better memory and efficiency.
The AI200 arrives in 2026 and the beefier AI250 in 2027. They work with popular AI frameworks, promising cost savings for companies that deploy them in huge server racks. 🖥️💡
Qualcomm even revealed full server racks to make it easier for cloud providers—and to challenge the data center dominance of Nvidia and AMD. Switching chip ecosystems is pricey, so Qualcomm has its work cut out.
In a big win, Humain, an AI startup backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, will use 200 megawatts of Qualcomm's AI racks starting in 2026. That deal hints at a future with more players in the AI compute game.
'Qualcomm's entry and major deal in Saudi Arabia prove the ecosystem is fragmenting because no single company can meet the global, decentralized need for high-efficiency AI compute,' says Joe Tigay, portfolio manager of the Rational Equity Armor Fund.
Best known for modem chips that keep our devices connected, Qualcomm is on a mission to reduce its dependence on smartphones. After stepping into the PC market against Intel and AMD, it's now gunning for a slice of the AI data center pie. 🍰💪
Reference(s):
Qualcomm announces new AI chips in data center push, shares surge
cgtn.com
