Chipmaker Qualcomm today announced a major acquisition: it will buy silicon company Nuvia for Santa Clara for $ 1.4 billion. Qualcomm aims to use Nuvia’s technology in future disk designs for a wide range of devices, from phones to cars.
Nuvia was founded in 2019 by three former executives of Apple semiconductors. The startup developed the design of CPU core design for servers, and the company’s materials frequently refer to a mission to reimagine silicon design. But Qualcomm sees applications for Nuvia’s off-server technology.
Qualcomm’s press release states that Nuvia will ‘deliver step-by-step enhancements in CPU performance and power efficiency to meet the requirements of next-generation 5G computers.’ Qualcomm plans to use Nuvia’s technology in “flagship smartphones, next-generation laptops and digital cabins, as well as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, augmented reality and infrastructure networking solutions.”
Like the recently launched Apple Silicon range of chips, Nuvia’s chips are based on the ARM architecture, but not fully licensed by ARM. This will enable Qualcomm to achieve better margins while developing chips that can help compete more directly with Apple’s chips. Qualcomm already supplies ARM-based chips for machines designed by Samsung and Microsoft.
According to Crunchbase, the smaller business has fewer than 100 employees, so the acquisition could be primarily about intellectual property. However, the press release notes that the founders of Nuvia “and their employees” will join Qualcomm.
The announcement includes statements in support of the acquisition and where it could go from a wide range of technology companies, including Microsoft, Asus, Google, General Motors and LG. In other words, this acquisition is part of a strategy shared by Qualcomm and its customers and partners to combat the growing perception that Apple’s chips are faster and more efficient.
In 2019, Apple sued one of Nuvia’s founders, Gerard Williams III, alleging that he tried to strip Apple employees of the new business before leaving his position at Apple. However, the case does not allege theft of intellectual property.