On October 27, Qualcomm unveiled a new line of artificial intelligence chips aimed at challenging market leader Nvidia, as competition intensifies to profit from the rapid expansion of AI data centers.
If successful, Qualcomm — the San Diego-based technology giant — could secure a foothold in the AI data center market as customers seek alternatives to Nvidia, which currently dominates nearly 90% of the sector.
Qualcomm Debuts AI200 and AI250 Chips for Data Centers
Qualcomm plans to commercially release the first chip in the lineup, the AI200, in 2026, and the AI250 will follow in 2027. Following the announcement of its entry into the data center market, Qualcomm’s stock jumped 20%.
The company intends to offer specialized AI server racks equipped with dozens of its chips for data center installations, while also selling standalone AI chips that enterprises can purchase and integrate into their existing servers.
Demand for AI inference chips has surged alongside broader adoption and emerging applications, prompting major players like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to develop their own in-house AI processors.
McKinsey Sees $7 Trillion Data Center Boom as Qualcomm Diversifies
McKinsey estimates that data centers will see nearly $7 trillion in capital expenditures by 2030.
“Qualcomm’s push to expand beyond smartphones and enter this market is a logical move,” said Austin Lyons, analyst and founder of the semiconductor publication Chipstrat. “It’s a smart shift in direction—targeting data centers rather than just consumer products.”
In September, OpenAI struck a $10 billion agreement with Broadcom to co-design custom AI chips and also invested in AMD, committing to purchase its MI450 AI processors.
Qualcomm has also secured Humain, a Saudi Arabian AI firm backed by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, as the first customer for its new chip lineup. These chips are set to be deployed in Humain’s data centers in 2026.
Humain Chooses Groq; G42 Builds UAE–US AI Campus
Humain, which plans to launch a $10 billion venture fund, selected another California-based chipmaker, Groq, in May to provide inference chips for its data centers.
Meanwhile, G42, an Abu Dhabi–backed AI holding company with a stake in U.S. chipmaker Cerebras Systems, will develop the 5-gigawatt UAE–US AI campus announced during President Trump’s May visit.
The Gulf nations have become increasingly influential in the AI landscape, following Trump’s White House rollback of Biden-era chip export controls and the negotiation of multi-billion-dollar U.S. chip supply deals to support their growing AI ambitions.
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