Qualcomm plans to acquire Alphawave Semi for $2.4 billion.

The chip designer said that it was looking to buy the smaller competitor to accelerate its push into data centers.

Alphawave Semi develops high-speed wired connectivity and compute tech, creating IP, custom silicon, connectivity products, and chiplets focused on data transfer.

“Under Tony [Pialis, CEO]’s leadership, Alphawave Semi has developed leading high-speed wired connectivity and compute technologies that are complementary to our power-efficient CPU and NPU cores,” said Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated.

“Qualcomm’s advanced custom processors are a natural fit for data center workloads. The combined teams share the goal of building advanced technology solutions and enabling next-level connected computing performance across a wide array of high-growth areas, including data center infrastructure.”

Qualcomm currently pitches its Oryon CPU and Hexagon NPU processors for AI inference market. In May, the company announced that it was working on an unnamed server CPU, which will support Nvidia's NVLink.

“Qualcomm’s acquisition of Alphawave Semi represents a significant milestone for us and an opportunity for our business to join forces with a respected industry leader and drive value to our customers,” said Tony Pialis, president and CEO of Alphawave Semi.

“By combining our resources and expertise, we will be well-positioned to expand our product offerings, reach a broader customer base, and enhance our technological capabilities. Together, we will unlock new opportunities for growth, drive innovation, and create a leading player in AI compute and connectivity solutions.”

The acquisition of Alphawave Semi is expected to complete during the first calendar quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.