According to CNBC , it is unclear whether Intel is involved in discussions with Qualcomm or what the terms of the deal are. If the deal happens, it would be one of the largest M&A deals in technology history. Intel is currently valued at more than $90 billion.

The New York Times revealed that “Qualcomm has not yet made a formal offer to Intel.”

Once the world’s largest chipmaker, Intel has been in a downward spiral for years, with the decline becoming particularly severe in 2024. In August, the US company suffered its worst day in 50 years after reporting disappointing earnings. Shares fell 26% to $21.48 on August 2. This year, Intel’s stock has lost 53% of its value as investors question its costly plans to revive its chip business.

Qualcomm and Intel compete in a number of markets, including PC and laptop chips. Unlike Intel, however, Qualcomm does not manufacture its own chips, relying instead on foundries like TSMC and Samsung.

Earlier this week, after a management meeting to discuss strategy, Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger sent an internal memo to employees, reiterating his commitment to investing heavily in the foundry business, a project that could cost $100 billion over the next five years. The company is also considering outside investments.

Intel missed out on the AI ​​revolution. Most advanced AI programs like ChatGPT run on Nvidia graphics processors, not Intel central processing units. Nvidia has more than 80 percent of that market, experts say.

Qualcomm's revenue is lower than Intel's. In fiscal 2023, Qualcomm reported revenue of $35.8 billion, while Intel reported $54.2 billion.

A deal between Qualcomm and Intel would be complicated by antitrust and national security concerns. Both companies operate in China and have unsuccessfully sought to buy another chip company.

There have been no major M&A deals in the semiconductor industry. In 2017, Broadcom offered to buy Qualcomm for more than $100 billion, but the Trump administration blocked it the following year over national security concerns. Broadcom was based in Singapore at the time. In 2021, the US Federal Trade Commission sued Nvidia to block its bid to buy chip designer Arm. The deal was canceled in 2022 under pressure from regulators in Europe and Asia.

(According to CNBC, NYT)