Qualcomm, the chipmaker supplying smartphones and wearable devices, said it plans to use the new chip technology it created for data centers in smartphones — ultimately allowing AI to run better on mobile devices, said Executive Vice President Durga Malladi in an interview.
When Qualcomm announced its data-center chips this week, it launched itself into the highly competitive data-center chip industry currently burdened by shortages.
But, “what starts in data centers is not going to end there,” said Malladi.
The company is in discussions with manufacturers of smartphones, personal computers, and cars about an aspect of its new data-center technology portfolio, Malladi told Semafor. Qualcomm’s High Bandwidth Compute architecture places memory and compute closer together by stacking chips vertically rather than placing them side by side, improving the speed and flow of data. The first generation of the new architecture is slated to launch in data centers next year, with the new chips becoming commercially available in 2028. Malladi didn’t disclose when Qualcomm will input its new technology into other devices.
The stacking idea isn’t new, but it has so far appeared mostly in data centers, rather than in smartphones. When it does reach handheld devices, it will allow users to run more AI models locally and operate agents in an “always on” fashion without draining the battery. Qualcomm, which lagged on data-center tech for several years, is uniquely positioned in the field due to its decades-long run with smartphone chips.