Qualcomm, a company prominent for its mobile chips, is interested in fully acquiring Intel, a report from The Wall Street Journal claims.
Intel, which is currently worth USD87 billion, has been facing huge problems in the past few years with its shares dropping by 60% just this year.
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One of the biggest damages it suffered is losing Apple as its customer after Macs transitioned to Apple Silicon chips that use ARM architecture. The company’s newer chips also failed to meet the expectations of its PC customers.
In an attempt to fix its problems, Intel attempted to acquire Tower Semiconductor in 2023 to compete with TSMC, the producer of chips from companies like Apple and Nvidia. However, the deal was axed after it failed to receive regulatory approval. The WSJ noted that a possible deal from Qualcomm and Intel also has a high probability of being stopped.
But, WSJ noted that Qualcomm still has a chance of acquiring the tech giant if it sells assets or parts of Intel to other firms as Apple managed to acquire Intel’s modem department in 2019 for USD1 billion.
While Intel still dominates the PC market, there’s been a spike in interest from PC makers to invest in ARM chips as they are more energy efficient, have better battery life, and handle the thermals better.
There’s no official confirmation if Intel will want to pursue the sale to Qualcomm. If they do, it is going to be one of the biggest changes in the industry.