Qualcomm is making a significant move into the AI infrastructure market by launching new AI accelerators, the AI200 and AI250 chips, set to become available in 2026 and 2027. These chips are designed to enhance inference capabilities in data centers, competing directly with industry giants Nvidia and AMD. The company aims to revolutionize data center operations with advanced storage technology and cost-effective solutions, supporting large-scale AI models and reducing operational costs for cloud providers. The announcement caused Qualcomm’s stock to jump nearly 19%, reflecting investor confidence in its strategic diversification beyond mobile chips. Qualcomm is also acquiring Alphawave, a semiconductor technology developer for data centers, for around $2.4 billion, and plans to develop custom data center processors leveraging Nvidia technology. The new chips are compatible with common AI frameworks and aim to lower total operating costs. This move positions Qualcomm as a serious contender in the rapidly growing AI data center market, which McKinsey estimates will see nearly $6.7 trillion in investments by 2030. The market is currently dominated by Nvidia, which generated over $41 billion in revenue from data center sales last year. Qualcomm’s entry into this segment marks a strategic diversification effort, as the company seeks to challenge established players through innovative memory and software solutions. The AI200 and AI250 chips will feature high memory bandwidth and energy efficiency, with the AI250 incorporating near-memory computing technology. Qualcomm’s push into AI hardware is part of broader industry trends, with Intel also announcing new data center chips. The company’s stock performance has been strong, with a recent 15% increase following the announcement.