🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Qualcomm’s robotics ambition is backed by a new chip

• The CEO set a two-year target, and Qualcomm is pairing that plan with real hardware.
• In January, the company launched a robotics processor under the Dragonwing brand name. Qualcomm says it can work across many robot platforms, similar to how Snapdragon chips power phones.
• CEO Cristiano Amon said robotics should reach scale in about two years. He also said advances in physical AI are making robots more capable.

The bigger battle is for the ‘brain’ of future intelligent machines

• Qualcomm is competing to supply the computing platform that runs machines in the physical world beyond PCs and phones.
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said last year that robotics could drive growth for Nvidia. His comments underline a wider race to power robots.
• Mobile World Congress put robotics in the spotlight. Exhibitors presented a range of robots, and Honor previewed its first humanoid robot.
• Consulting firm McKinsey expects the market for general-purpose robots to reach $370 billion by 2040. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets estimate a $9 trillion total addressable market for humanoid robots by 2050.