Qualcomm is in talks to buy Tenstorrent for US$8 billion to US$10 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

A deal would deepen Qualcomm’s push beyond smartphone chips.

The person said the talks were ongoing, and terms could still change or fall apart.

It was unclear whether the price would include performance-based milestone payments, a structure sometimes used in chip startup acquisitions.

Qualcomm shares fell about 1% in extended trading.

Tenstorrent, a US- and Canada-based AI chip startup founded in 2016, is led by Jim Keller.

The company develops AI accelerators for training models and running AI applications, while also licensing AI and RISC-V intellectual property and providing hardware systems and open-source software tools.

The startup last raised over US$693 million in December 2024 at a US$2 billion pre-money valuation, following a 2021 round that valued the company at US$1 billion.

Qualcomm has been seeking to reduce its dependence on the cyclical handset market by expanding into areas including automotive chips and data center processors.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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