SAN DIEGO, May 11, 2026, 10:09 PDT
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon is betting the chipmaker’s future on AI wearables, saying on Fortune’s Titans and Disruptors of Industry podcast that the company is collaborating with OpenAI, Meta Platforms, and, in his words, “pretty much all” of the top AI names to develop personal devices that could move some computing workloads off smartphones. Benzinga covered the remarks, as Qualcomm pushes further into the scramble to provide chips powering AI agent-driven hardware—devices designed to handle user tasks via advanced software. Fortune
Timing’s key here. Qualcomm, still seen by most investors as a phone processor and wireless chip play, is feeling the pressure as smartphones reach maturity. Wall Street wants to see a convincing move into AI hardware. Qualcomm shares jumped about 6.7% to $233.82 on Monday, touching an intraday peak of $247.62.
The legacy side isn’t going away just yet. Qualcomm logged $10.6 billion in fiscal Q2 sales, an SEC filing shows, even as handset revenue dropped 13% from last year to $6.0 billion. Auto sales jumped 38%, and IoT climbed 9%. That gives CEO Amon extra ammunition to push the line that Qualcomm has outgrown its image as just a smartphone company.
Amon boils it down: AI agents will need cameras, mics, sensors, efficient chips and speedy network connections close to the user—having everything run out of far-off data centers won’t cut it. Speaking with Fortune, he called 2026 the “year of agents” and said he’s “very bullish on glasses.” He also flagged jewelry, pins, and pendants as other shapes personal AI gadgets could take. Fortune
Pressed on OpenAI and Meta, Amon told Fortune that Qualcomm collaborates with “all of them.” As cited by Benzinga, he outlined an “ecosystem of you”: glasses, earbuds, and other gadgets constantly gathering context, empowering agents to manage chores like rescheduling appointments or shopping for better prices. Fortune
The pitch is promising, but a proven market still hasn’t materialized. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon expects some wearable AI gadgets to hit shelves late this year, with real volume builds in 2027 and 2028. Even so, he’s quick to add: the smartphone “is not going to go anywhere.” That’s a key point—Qualcomm envisions a shift in tech workloads, not a wholesale swap-out of phones. Fortune
The OpenAI angle hasn’t been fully nailed down yet. Last month, Reuters cited TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said OpenAI was teaming up with Qualcomm and Taiwan’s MediaTek on chips for a smartphone built for AI from the start, with mass production probably coming in 2028. Back then, all three—Qualcomm, MediaTek, and OpenAI—declined to comment.
Qualcomm is making a push into AI infrastructure, telling investors its “entry into the data center” involves a custom silicon deal with a major hyperscaler—a top-tier cloud provider—with the first shipments slated for later this calendar year. CEO Amon added that AI agents are now influencing the company’s roadmap for every platform it builds. Qualcomm
Qualcomm is now up against stiffer rivals. According to Reuters, Broadcom and Marvell have gained traction thanks to demand for custom ASICs—chips built for targeted customers or specific tasks—while Qualcomm’s focus has shifted toward CPUs, inference accelerators, and custom data center silicon. Inference refers to deploying an AI model that’s already been trained.
There’s a risk investors are running ahead of what the devices can actually deliver. Qualcomm’s forecast for this quarter already factors in memory supply issues and higher prices affecting handset demand, with revenue guidance set between $9.2 billion and $10.0 billion. On top of that, Reuters noted a warning from J.P. Morgan analysts: the smartphone sector is “hardly out of the woods” as memory shortages and price hikes could escalate. SEC
Amon’s pitching a transition, but consumers aren’t exactly on board yet. If agents do turn into the go-to interface, Qualcomm leans on its combo of low-power chips, connectivity, and long-standing device partnerships. But if wearables remain a niche play, the tougher question that’s dogged the company for years is right back in focus: just how much growth is out there when the phone isn’t the hub of the digital world anymore.
