SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2026, 12:38 PDT
Qualcomm Incorporated said on Tuesday it is teaming up with British startup Wayve on a pre-integrated system for advanced driver-assistance systems, or ADAS, and automated driving, pairing Wayve’s AI Driver software with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Ride chips and safety stack. The companies said the package is meant to help carmakers put more capable driving features into vehicles faster and across more models.
That is why the move matters now. In the quarter ended Dec. 28, handsets still brought in $7.824 billion of chip revenue, against $1.101 billion from automotive, even though Qualcomm posted a second straight quarter above $1 billion in car sales.
The stock still reflects that tension. Qualcomm shares were down about 1.9% at $135.54 in Tuesday afternoon trading; last month the company warned that a global memory shortage was hitting phone demand and weighing on its near-term outlook.
Wayve’s software learns from real-world driving data instead of leaning as heavily on detailed maps and pre-set rules. Qualcomm and Wayve said the combined platform can support everything from hands-free assistance to more advanced “eyes-off” functions, meaning the driver may stop watching the road in limited situations if regulations permit. Reuters
Anshuman Saxena, Qualcomm’s vice president and general manager for ADAS and robotics, said ADAS is where “scale, safety, and real-world impact” matter most. Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall said the tie-up gives automakers using Snapdragon Ride a “streamlined path” to deploy end-to-end AI driving software. Wayve
Wayve has emerged as one of the better-funded names in autonomous driving. Reuters reported last month that it raised $1.2 billion, or $1.5 billion including milestone-linked Uber capital, at an $8.6 billion valuation from investors that included Mercedes-Benz, Nvidia, Nissan, Stellantis, Uber and Microsoft.
The deal pushes Qualcomm deeper into a crowded race. Nvidia has been rolling out new alliances and platforms for self-driving vehicles, while Mobileye said in January it had won a major U.S. automaker for its next-generation driver-assistance system.
But this part of the market is still hard going. Reuters reported in February that “eyes-off,” or Level 3, systems face unresolved safety and liability questions, high development costs and uncertain consumer demand, leading some carmakers to pull back. Reuters
Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research, said in February that the “worldwide memory crunch” was hurting Qualcomm’s near-term outlook. Qualcomm, for its part, has said demand for premium Android phones has held up better than the broader market. Reuters
Qualcomm and Wayve said the joint platform is already drawing strong interest from automakers and could be extended to future Level 4 robotaxi work, industry shorthand for highly automated vehicles that can handle driving on their own in defined conditions. Even after record automotive revenue, though, cars remain a much smaller business than phones inside Qualcomm.
