Qualcomm teases ‘dedicated CPU for agentic experiences’ and ‘agentic smartphones’
Qualcomm has entered the custom AI silicon market, developing a dedicated CPU for 'agentic experiences' in data centers and planning shipments to a major hyperscaler by the December quarter. CEO Cristiano Amon highlighted the company's work on data center CPUs, AI inference accelerators, and future 'agentic smartphones' that integrate AI deeply into device functionality. Qualcomm will provide more details during an upcoming investor day in June.
- ▪Qualcomm is providing custom silicon to a leading unnamed hyperscaler, with shipments expected in the December quarter.
- ▪The company has developed a dedicated CPU for agentic experiences in data centers, emphasizing the growing role of CPUs in AI agent workloads.
- ▪Qualcomm gained custom ASIC capabilities through its acquisition of Alphawave.
- ▪CEO Cristiano Amon mentioned 'agentic smartphones' that proactively interpret user intent, citing examples from ZTE and Xiaomi.
- ▪An investor day in June will reveal more about Qualcomm's data center and AI hardware strategies.
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Systems Qualcomm teases ‘dedicated CPU for agentic experiences’ and ‘agentic smartphones’ Enters the custom AI silicon business with secret silicon for an un-named hyperscaler Simon Sharwood Fri 1 May 2026 // 06:43 UTC Qualcomm has quietly entered the market for custom hyperscale silicon, and datacenter CPUs Speaking on the company’s Q2 earnings call, CEO Cristiano Amon said the company will provide custom product to “a leading hyperscaler,” expects shipments “in the December quarter” and is “thinking about a multi-generation engagement.” Pressed on the details, Amon said Qualcomm is already working on a data center CPU and high-performance AI inference accelerators, and gained the ability to create custom ASICs by acquiring Alphawave.
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