William Gallagher
Chip designer Nuvia, that was controversially founded by ex-Apple staff, is being bought by Qualcomm to help design custom processors for smartphones and laptops.
Qualcomm, the current producer of 5G modems for the iPhone 12 range, has announced that it is to acquire processor design company Nuvia for $1.4 billion. Nuvia was founded by ex-Apple staff, prompting as yet unsettled legal issues, and has been working to design processors for servers.
According to Reuters, Qualcomm intends to use Nuvia's designs and technology in creating new processors for smartphones, laptops, and even cars.
Apple is designing its own 5G modem to replace Qualcomm's designs in the "iPhone 13." Qualcomm, also now clear of years of litigation with Apple, is looking to expand its own custom processor designs.
Alongside its work for Apple, Qualcomm has previously provided processors to Samsung, and Microsoft.
"It's exciting to see Nuvia join the Qualcomm team," said Microsoft's chief product officer, Panos Panay, in a statement. "Moving forward, we have an incredible opportunity to empower our customers across the Windows ecosystem."
Qualcomm's move comes as it announces that its current CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, is to be replaced by the company's head of silicon, Cristiano Amon. The decision to buy Nuvia also comes as Qualcomm reportedly looks to reduce its reliance on ARM, which has now been bought by rival firm Nvidia.
The acquisition of Nuvia is also happening as its own CEO, Gerard Williams III, remains in legal dispute with his previous employer, Apple. It's alleged that Williams III began Nuvia, and recruited colleagues, while still working for Apple.
Williams III denies this and also claims that Apple has been headhunting Nuvia staff. No trial date has been set for the case between Apple and Williams III, and Reuters reports that Apple is not suing the Nuvia company itself.
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NUVIA's Phoenix expected performance:
Keep in mind that these are projected numbers, however, the credibility comes from the people behind the design.
Qualcomm acquiring them might add further credibility to their claim.
This article contains a lot of information appeared to make Qualcomm's purchase of Nuvia suspect. But to clarify:
1. Apple is designing its own 5G modem to replace Qualcomm's designs in the "iPhone 13." Qualcomm, also now clear of years of litigation with Apple, is looking to expand its own custom processor designs.
Apple was the subject of this lawsuit due to unpaid royalties to Qualcomm, which Apple later paid. Apple being forced to settle its lawsuit with Qualcomm before inevitably losing it had nothing to do with this. Were Apple still willing to fight this losing battle, Qualcomm would have still bought Nuvia and "been free to do so."
2. Apple's disputes with Nuvia's CEO has nothing to do with Qualcomm or their purchase of Nuvia. It won't keep Qualcomm from using Nuvia's chips or incorporating their IP into their own chips.
3. Apple's using Qualcomm's modems until they are able to design their own and integrate them into their own chips has nothing to do with this, which is about CPUs. Even after Apple finishes their own modem design and their contract with Qualcomm ends in 2024, Apple will still have to pay licensing fees to Qualcomm for the patents that they will use in the process of designing their own LTE/5G modems.
4. "Qualcomm's move comes as it announces that its current CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, is to be replaced by the company's head of silicon, Cristiano Amon." Mollenkopf is an extremely successful CEO who is merely retiring after a typical 7 year CEO run and after having been with the company 25 years. This is not a "forced out in disgrace" thing like Ballmer and Microsoft and the orchestrator of the failed "pivot away from Wintel and towards AI-driven iPad apps" IBM CEO.
5. Qualcomm is merely doing this in order to satisfy Microsoft's demand for ARM chips that can successfully run Windows 10 and Windows 10X. So while you can say that the M1 chip was the root cause behind this action, that is as far as you can go.
Welp, we see why they quit Apple and started this startup (and at least one got into hot water for working on this startup while still at Apple) -- major cash out. Qualcomm needs the help.