Qualcomm Challenges Nvidia with New AI Data Center Chips

Qualcomm has officially entered the high-performance AI data center market with its newly announced AI200 and AI250 chips, marking a bold shift from its traditional smartphone processor dominance. These chips are designed for large-scale AI inference workloads, focusing on energy efficiency and scalability — two areas that have become critical as AI adoption accelerates globally.

The move puts Qualcomm in direct competition with Nvidia, whose GPUs currently dominate the AI training and inference ecosystem. Qualcomm claims its new architecture can deliver comparable performance with up to 40% lower power consumption, which could be a game-changer for data centers struggling with energy costs. The company also emphasized a comprehensive software stack for easy integration with existing machine-learning frameworks.

Interestingly, Qualcomm already has its first big customer — a Middle Eastern AI infrastructure company planning to deploy these chips in a 200 MW AI facility by 2026. Investors responded positively, pushing Qualcomm’s stock up by nearly 20% after the announcement.

If successful, this move could bring more competition and lower infrastructure costs across global AI operations. It also signals the start of a new wave where chipmakers diversify beyond mobile markets to power the world’s expanding AI backbone.