en.Wedoany.com Reported - Akash Palkhiwala, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Qualcomm, revealed at a recent event that the company is planning to extend its business footprint from the mobile communications sector into two emerging fields: data centers and robotics. Palkhiwala stated, "We are expanding into the data center space, and we are excited about the products we will be launching very soon... and we are also entering the robotics space." He also noted that more details will be shared at an investor conference in the coming months.

Qualcomm's foray into the data center market is not a spur-of-the-moment decision but a strategic upgrade years in the making. In 2021, Qualcomm acquired chip startup Nuvia for $1.4 billion. Founded by former Apple chip architects, Nuvia focused on developing ARM-based data center CPUs. Nuvia's core technology—the Oryon architecture—was initially designed for server scenarios, although it was first deployed in the Snapdragon X series PC processors. In October 2025, Qualcomm officially launched the AI200 and AI250 AI inference chips for data centers, marking a substantial step into the AI infrastructure sector. The AI200 is expected to be commercialized in 2026, and the AI250 is planned for 2027. Both utilize the Hexagon NPU, emphasizing low power consumption, high cost-effectiveness, and modular deployment. At MWC 2026, Qualcomm further showcased a rack-level AI inference system that integrates accelerator cards, memory, interconnects, and management software into a unified platform.

The development timeline for data center CPUs is equally intensive. CEO Cristiano Amon confirmed during the Q2 fiscal year 2026 earnings call in April 2026 that the first custom data center chips would begin shipping later this year, with one major hyperscale cloud service customer already secured. The new CPU will support NVIDIA's NVLink Fusion interconnect technology, enabling Qualcomm's server chips to efficiently collaborate with NVIDIA GPUs within data centers. Qualcomm also recruited Sailesh Kottapalli, a veteran Xeon architect from Intel, as Senior Vice President to lead server CPU development—Kottapalli spent 28 years at Intel deeply involved in server chip design and was a key figure in the Xeon product line. According to multiple industry media reports, Qualcomm plans to officially launch its first data center-grade CPU in June 2026.

In the robotics sector, Qualcomm has already built a complete technology stack spanning chips, platforms, and ecosystems. At CES in January 2026, Qualcomm launched the Dragonwing IQ10 series, a dedicated processor for industrial AMRs and full-size humanoid robots, and introduced a next-generation robotics full-stack architecture integrating hardware, software, and composite AI. Previously, Qualcomm's robotics product line already covered platforms like the RB3, RB5, and RB6, forming a complete gradient from entry-level to high-end. In March 2026, Qualcomm signed a long-term strategic cooperation agreement with German robotics company NEURA Robotics to advance the commercialization of physical AI in the fields of humanoid and general-purpose robots. Qualcomm provides the Dragonwing IQ10 processor, AI acceleration platform, and communication modules, while NEURA is responsible for integrating the robot hardware systems and embodied AI software.

The strategic logic behind Qualcomm's dual-pronged layout is rooted in two major industry trends. On the data center side, the demand for AI inference is surging with the large-scale deployment of foundation models. The energy efficiency advantages of the ARM architecture give it potential competitiveness in inference scenarios, and Qualcomm is attempting to enter the AI computing market dominated by NVIDIA through a differentiated approach. As a first step in implementation, Qualcomm has signed a cooperation agreement with Saudi AI company HUMAIN to deploy 200 megawatts of AI200 and AI250 rack-based solutions in Saudi Arabia starting in 2026, creating the world's first end-to-cloud hybrid AI data center. On the robotics side, physical AI is moving from concept to industrialization, with rapidly rising demand for high-performance edge computing power in areas like industrial AMRs and humanoid robots. Qualcomm's accumulated technological assets in mobile AI, 5G connectivity, and low-power computing can be directly reused. Palkhiwala's public statement can be seen as a clear signal that Qualcomm is officially transforming from the "King of Mobile Chips" in the smartphone era to an "End-to-Cloud Full-Scenario Computing Power Provider" in the AI era.

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