[News] Qualcomm Back to the Data Center Market, with Related Oryon CPU Structure Expected to Unveil Later

U.S. chip giant Qualcomm held its COMPUTEX 2025 keynote speech on May 19, during which CEO Cristiano Amon announced the company’s re-entry into the data center market. While a detailed product roadmap has yet to be revealed, Amon believes Qualcomm is well-positioned for this move. With its recent partnership with Saudi AI startup Humain and NVIDIA joining its ecosystem, Amon emphasized Qualcomm’s two key strengths: a disruptive CPU architecture and high flexibility. These reflect Qualcomm’s DNA—high performance and ultra-low power computing.

Regarding cooperation with the Taiwanese supply chain, Amon stated, “TSMC has always been our key manufacturing partner, and Qualcomm has long been one of TSMC’s major customers, shipping about 40 billion chips annually.” He also praised Taiwan’s robust PC ecosystem. As Qualcomm expands into the PC space, its collaboration with Taiwan’s PC industry is rapidly growing. The company is actively expanding its Taiwan team and will continue to strengthen its local presence.

As to Xiaomi’s in-house chip development, Amon stressed that Qualcomm maintains a long-term and stable partnership with Xiaomi, whose flagship devices continue to use Qualcomm technologies. He pointed out that it is not uncommon for brands to develop their own chips—Samsung being a notable example—but Qualcomm remains the primary chip supplier for Xiaomi’s flagship phones, and that will not change in the future.

Amon said Qualcomm aims for a 12% market share by 2029, contributing USD 4 billion in revenue. Currently, Qualcomm has a 10% penetration rate in the U.S. consumer market and has recently expanded into the top five markets in Europe, which collectively account for around 9% of the global market.

With a presence across mobile chips, AI PCs, automotive, and connectivity, Amon was asked whether Qualcomm plans to enter the robotics field. He responded that robotics, like automotive, involves untethered devices that demand high performance and low power consumption. He believes robotics is just as important as automotive to Qualcomm’s future, and the company is already collaborating with several partners in this area. He expects it to become the company’s next growth driver.

Amon highlighted Qualcomm’s strength in rapidly scaling its IP. The Oryon CPU was first deployed in the Snapdragon X series, followed by Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon 8 Elite, then extended to automotive platforms like Snapdragon Ride and Snapdragon Cockpit Elite. A data center version is also in the works.

During his keynote, Amon noted that 2025 marks Qualcomm’s 40th anniversary. He demonstrated real-world applications of AI agents and, for the first time, engaged in a live Q&A session with an AI. Toward the end of the presentation, Amon announced that the 2025 Snapdragon Summit will take place from September 23 to 25, about a month earlier than usual.

(Photo credit: Qualcomm)