Qualcomm shook up the semiconductor world on Monday by revealing two next-generation AI chips—AI200 and AI250—aimed squarely at data centers. The announcement sent Qualcomm’s shares surging 20%, underscoring investor excitement around its AI ambitions beyond a maturing smartphone market.
The AI200, set to arrive in 2026, and its bigger sibling, the AI250 launching in 2027, promise expanded memory capacity and faster AI inference. Both chips support popular AI frameworks, helping enterprises cut costs while running complex language models, chatbots and other generative tools.
As global investment in AI infrastructure climbs, Qualcomm is joining the likes of Nvidia and AMD in offering complete rack solutions. Cloud providers and startups alike are racing to build decentralized, high-efficiency compute platforms—and Qualcomm’s entry signals a more fragmented, competitive landscape.
Highlighting its push into new markets, Qualcomm announced Saudi Arabia’s Humain will deploy 200 megawatts of AI racks starting in 2026. “Qualcomm’s entry and major deal in Saudi Arabia prove the ecosystem is fragmenting because no single company can meet the global, decentralized need for high-efficiency AI compute,” said Joe Tigay, portfolio manager of the Rational Equity Armor Fund.
The move also marks another chapter in Qualcomm’s diversification strategy. Best known for supplying modem chips that power smartphone connectivity, the company has spent the last two years challenging Intel and AMD in the PC space—now it’s racing to become a top contender in AI data centers.
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Qualcomm announces new AI chips in data center push, shares surge
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