Qualcomm recently announced two new AI chips designed for data centers, marking a major shift from its slowing smartphone business and sparking a 20 percent surge in its stock price. The sharp rise reflected investor confidence in the company’s deepening push into AI, as it prepares to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in data center technology.
The first chip, known as the AI200, will be available in 2026 and will serve as both a standalone AI accelerator and the centerpiece of a full Qualcomm-designed server rack that includes its own CPU. A follow-up system, the AI250, is expected in 2027, while a third generation is planned for release in 2028. Qualcomm said it intends to maintain this yearly product cycle going forward.
The move comes amid a global race to expand AI computing infrastructure. Cloud providers, semiconductor firms, and large enterprises are investing heavily to handle the growing demands of large chatbots, language models, and other GenAI applications.
According to estimates from McKinsey, total spending on data centers worldwide could reach $6.7 trillion by the end of the decade, with most of that investment directed toward AI chips.
Qualcomm highlighted that its chips are compatible with widely used AI tools and frameworks while also emphasizing cost savings for enterprise customers. The company also introduced full server racks built around its new technology, following a trend among rivals AMD and Nvidia, which are also moving from individual chip sales to complete data center solutions.
Despite growing competition in the sector, Nvidia remains the dominant player, with its chips still seen as the industry standard for performance. Analysts note that the expense and complexity of switching to a new provider continue to be major barriers for potential customers, even as competitors like Qualcomm seek to challenge Nvidia’s lead.
Qualcomm also announced a major deal with Humain, an AI firm funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Humain plans to deploy 200 megawatts of Qualcomm’s AI rack systems in its data centers starting in 2026.
Best known as the leading supplier of modem chips which connect smartphones to mobile networks, Qualcomm has been working to lessen its dependence on the handset business. After losing Huawei as a major client and facing Apple’s push to develop its own chips, the company has expanded into new markets, including PCs, where it now competes with AMD and Intel to power Windows laptops.
Many firms like AI Maverick Intel Inc. (OTC: AIMV) focused on AI are benefiting from the AI boom and the recent surge witnessed in the stocks of Qualcomm isn’t an isolated incident.
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