Qualcomm in talks to buy Tenstorrent for up to $10 billion

Shares of Qualcomm rose approximately 4% in premarket trading on Tuesday following reports the company is in talks to acquire AI chip startup Tenstorrent for a potential price between $8 billion and $10 billion. The news, first reported by The Information, coincides with an expansive vision for AI-powered devices outlined by Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon and builds anticipation for the company’s investor day scheduled for June 24.

The potential acquisition of Tenstorrent would mark a significant move by Qualcomm to strengthen its position in the competitive AI hardware market, particularly in data centers. Tenstorrent designs accelerator chips for AI training and inference workloads, positioning itself as an alternative to dominant players like Nvidia. A key asset in the deal would be Tenstorrent’s leadership, including CEO Jim Keller, a renowned chip architect with a history of influential work at AMD, Apple, and Tesla. Both companies declined to comment on the reports, which indicate negotiations are ongoing and no final agreement has been reached.

This strategic push comes as Qualcomm seeks to diversify its revenue beyond its core smartphone chip business. The company has...