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Qualcomm, AWS sign deal for custom AI chips

9/10/2026

Summary

Qualcomm partners AWS

Qualcomm and Amazon Web Services signed a deal to supply custom AI data-center silicon.
Amazon may purchase up to $60 billion of Qualcomm server chips through September 2036.
Qualcomm issued Amazon warrants for 25 million shares at $161.26 each, valued at about $4 billion.
The partnership initially targets AI inference chips and optical links up to 1.6 Tbps.
Qualcomm will use AWS Bedrock to accelerate chip design, with revenue recognized starting December quarter.

Summary

Qualcomm lands AWS

Qualcomm shares rose 5% to $177.60 in early trading after announcing the AWS AI chip deal.
Analysts upgraded their outlook, calling the agreement a catalyst for Qualcomm’s shift away from handset dependence.
Broadcom’s stock also rose, indicating market validation of the custom AI silicon segment.
The AWS deal adds Meta and Saudi-based Humain to Qualcomm’s hyperscaler roster of early data-center customers.

History

Historical Context

Intel’s Itanium processor launched in May 2001 on IBM, HP and Dell servers despite lagging performance. Its successor, Itanium 2, arrived in July 2002, yet Intel’s annual Itanium output fell to about 200,000 chips by 2007, highlighting the modest market that today’s Qualcomm-AWS cloud-silicon agreements seek to expand in the cloud-computing era.

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Qualcomm partners AWS

Qualcomm and Amazon Web Services signed a deal to supply custom AI data-center silicon.
Amazon may purchase up to $60 billion of Qualcomm server chips through September 2036.
Qualcomm issued Amazon warrants for 25 million shares at $161.26 each, valued at about $4 billion.
The partnership initially targets AI inference chips and optical links up to 1.6 Tbps.
Qualcomm will use AWS Bedrock to accelerate chip design, with revenue recognized starting December quarter.

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