Qualcomm in Talks to Acquire AI Chip Startup Tenstorrent in Deal That Could Reach $10 Billion

Qualcomm Inc. is in advanced negotiations to acquire Tenstorrent, an artificial intelligence chip startup, in a transaction valued at between $8 billion and $10 billion — a dramatic premium over the Canadian company's last valuation of $2.6 billion. The deal, first reported by The Information, remains ongoing, with final terms yet to be determined and no guarantee that an agreement will be reached.

Photo by Steve A Johnson from Pexels: 

Founded in 1985 by Irwin Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi, and five other telecommunications veterans, Qualcomm built its empire by pioneering CDMA wireless standards. Today, it is recognized as the world's largest wireless chip vendor, supplying processors to nearly every major handset maker through its flagship Snapdragon line. Yet with its core smartphone business under growing pressure — particularly in China amid a prolonged memory chip shortage — the San Diego-based giant has been actively seeking new avenues for growth beyond the mobile market.

That search has now landed on Tenstorrent. Founded in 2016 by Ljubisa Bajic, Ivan Hamer, and Milos Trajkovic, the Toronto-headquartered startup rose to prominence after recruiting legendary chip architect Jim Keller, who now serves as CEO. Tenstorrent specializes in AI Graph Processors, high-performance RISC-V CPU cores, and configurable chiplets — offering a compelling, GPU-light alternative to Nvidia's dominant hardware stack. The company last raised $693 million in a Series D round in December 2024, lifting its valuation to $2.6 billion.

Tom's Hardware reported that, if completed, the acquisition would give Qualcomm access to Tenstorrent's advanced AI computing technology, including its RISC-V-based AI accelerators, data center-class CPU intellectual property, and an engineering team of approximately 552 employees. These assets could significantly accelerate Qualcomm's expansion into the lucrative data center market and strengthen its position as a major contender in the AI semiconductor industry. Neither Qualcomm nor Tenstorrent has publicly commented on the reported discussions.