Qualcomm CEO says Intel’s chip production not good enough yet

Qualcomm chief executive officer Cristiano Amon said Intel’s production technology isn’t currently good enough for the maker of mobile phone processors to use as a supplier.

If Intel is able to advance its manufacturing techniques to produce more efficient chips, then Qualcomm would consider becoming a customer, Amon said Friday in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Bloomberg Tech.

“Intel is not an option today,” Amon said. “We would like Intel to be an option.”

Instead, the CEO said Qualcomm will stick with current producers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co.

Qualcomm is a designer of chips that, like most of the industry, relies on outsourced production. Intel, formerly the world’s largest chipmaker, is trying to turn around its fortunes by attracting outside customers, such as Qualcomm, in addition to manufacturing its own designs.

The San Diego-based company, which gets the majority of its revenue from selling processors that are the heart of Android smartphones, is undergoing its own transformation but from a stronger base than Intel, which is facing shrinking sales. Under Amon, Qualcomm is pushing its mobile technology into new markets, such as automotive, seeking revenue growth that doesn’t depend on a smartphone boom. It has told investors it can secure $22 billion in revenue from automotive and connected devices by 2029.

Earlier Friday, the company announced it has developed a self-driving product that’s going into BMW AG’s newly announced iX3 sports utility vehicle.

Unlike other chipmakers that made claims about the impending takeover of the automotive industry by autonomous systems, Qualcomm has pursued a more measured approach. The company took its time to develop a strong position in chips that support information and entertainment systems inside vehicles. It’s now leveraging relationships to spread its reach into technology that will eventually take the role of the driver.

The new system going into BMW vehicles has the advantage of bringing powerful computing — as much as a data center server — yet requires relatively little power, Amon said. The new Snapdragon Ride Pilot offering can be scaled down to basic driver assistance or up to take over most of the driving functions, Amon said. Even powerful systems won’t suck the life out of batteries needed to keep cars rolling as far as they can between recharges.

“We design all of our chips assuming there’s a battery on the other side, not plugged into the wall,” he said. “You have all the computing power and you still get incredible range.”

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