Qualcomm shares surged 12% on Friday, reaching a record high and marking a 75% increase over the past month, as Wall Street increasingly recognizes the company's pivotal role in the expanding market for AI-powered devices [1]. Despite trailing behind Nvidia in chips for AI models and workloads, Qualcomm is leveraging its dominance in smartphones to establish itself as a key player in connected devices, including eyeglasses, cars, and robots [1]. The company is reportedly partnering with OpenAI to develop an AI chip for a forthcoming device powered by AI agents, which analyst Ivan Feinseth of Tigress Financial Partners described as a 'phone that will be an AI-based operating system that will do everything' [1].
Qualcomm's technology is central to a wide range of gadgets performing AI tasks at the edge, such as Microsoft's Surface PCs and smartglasses from Google and Meta. Its Arm-based chips are noted for their energy efficiency compared to those from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices [1]. On Thursday, Qualcomm announced a deal with Stellantis, which will use Snapdragon processors to support advanced compute power across its vehicles, including cockpit, connectivity, and driver assist systems. Stellantis, which owns brands like Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, and Maserati, stated that customers will benefit from a 'smooth, immersive, and safe auto-drive experience' with multiple driving modes [1].
Qualcomm has secured similar automotive partnerships with Bosch, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and BMW. In its latest earnings report, the company reported a 38% year-over-year increase in automotive revenue to $1.3 billion, with over 1 million cars already using Qualcomm processors for autonomous systems [1].
Investor enthusiasm is also driven by Qualcomm's entry into the data center chip market. The company announced its AI200 and AI250 custom AI accelerators last year, which are expected to go on sale later this year. These chips are designed to be more programmable than Nvidia's GPUs and will be available in a rack-scale system similar to Nvidia's Vera Rubin and AMD's upcoming Helios system [1]. CEO Cristiano Amon stated in April that Qualcomm would begin shipping data center chips to 'a larg...' [1].
CONCLUSION
Qualcomm's record stock surge reflects growing investor confidence in its expanding role in AI devices, automotive technology, and data center chips. With strong automotive revenue growth, new partnerships, and upcoming AI accelerators, the company is positioned as a key player in the next wave of AI-driven hardware innovation. Market sentiment is highly positive, and Qualcomm's strategic moves are seen as significant drivers for future growth.