Qualcomm CEO says company is in advanced talks with a data center customer on custom silicon

Cristiano Amon told investors a hyperscale customer deal is taking shape, with first shipments expected in December 2026 Qualcomm wants a seat at the data center table again, and it says it has found someone willing to pull out a chair. CEO Cristiano Amon said the company is in advanced discussions with a data center accelerator customer about future custom silicon. That signals Qualcomm’s second attempt at the server market is moving from slide decks toward actual purchase orders. What Amon actually said The comments came during Qualcomm’s Q2 FY2026 earnings call on April 29, 2026. Amon described the counterparty as a leading hyperscaler. That is industry shorthand for the giant cloud operators that buy chips by the warehouse. The talks are not finished. The company characterized them as advanced, which is a meaningful step past exploratory but still short of a signed contract. Timing is where it gets concrete. Initial shipments of the custom silicon are expected in December 2026, landing late in the calendar year. Qualcomm is also framing the relationship as multi-generational. Rather than a one-off chip, the plan points to a series of designs built for the same customer over sev...