Qualcomm and Amazon have agreed a multi-generation collaboration to develop custom silicon for AWS AI data centres, with the two companies also working on optical connectivity. The announcement, reported by Investing.com and carried in Qualcomm’s release, moves Qualcomm further into infrastructure beyond its traditional smartphone business.
Qualcomm Amazon AI data centre chips target inference
The companies will focus on customised chips for AI inference at scale. Qualcomm said its compute platforms, SerDes technology and optical digital signal processors will be combined with AWS infrastructure. The optical work is planned to support connectivity of up to 1.6 terabits per second.
Qualcomm Amazon AI data centre chips are intended to give AWS another source of custom silicon as cloud providers build more of their own hardware for AI workloads. The agreement covers multiple product generations rather than a single announced processor, so detailed specifications and deployment dates have not been disclosed.
Amazon receives a 25 million-share warrant
Qualcomm will issue Amazon a warrant to buy up to 25 million Qualcomm shares. Reuters reporting carried by Investing.com said the warrant is linked to the wider commercial relationship, while Qualcomm’s chief financial officer said the company expects to begin booking revenue from the deal in its fiscal first quarter.
Qualcomm said it has a $5 billion data-centre revenue target for fiscal 2027. The company is expanding beyond mobile chips while smartphone demand remains under pressure, giving the AWS deal a clear strategic role without turning it into an announced product launch.
For UAE businesses using AWS, the announcement does not change the availability or pricing of cloud services locally. It could eventually affect the hardware behind AWS workloads, but Amazon has not provided a UAE deployment timetable for the new silicon.
This follows Qualcomm’s recent move beyond phone chips in its AI laptop strategy. AWS is also expanding its regional cloud footprint through its planned Saudi Arabia cloud region.
What did Qualcomm and Amazon announce?
They announced a multi-generation collaboration on custom AI inference chips and optical connectivity for AWS data-centre infrastructure.
How fast will the optical connectivity run?
Qualcomm says the optical connectivity work will extend to speeds of up to 1.6 terabits per second.
How many Qualcomm shares can Amazon buy?
The warrant allows Amazon to purchase up to 25 million Qualcomm common shares.
