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China opens antitrust probe into Qualcomm over its Autotalks deal

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China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has launched an antitrust investigation into U.S. semiconductor giant Qualcomm over its acquisition of Israel’s Autotalks. The regulator said it would examine whether Qualcomm violated Chinese competition laws by failing to properly declare details of the transaction.

Following the announcement, Qualcomm shares dropped more than 5%, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs against China and hinted at cancelling a planned meeting with President Xi Jinping. The probe adds new pressure to both countries’ tech sectors amid an escalating rivalry in artificial intelligence and semiconductor technology.

Qualcomm completed its Autotalks deal in June, integrating the Israeli company’s V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication technology into its Snapdragon car platform. Analysts suggest that Beijing’s move might go beyond a “no-harm” early filing penalty, signaling potential economic leverage on U.S. chip and auto supply chains.

The case follows China’s recent accusations against Nvidia for breaching anti-monopoly rules. With 46% of Qualcomm’s 2024 fiscal revenue coming from Chinese customers, analysts warn the investigation could intensify investor concerns about geopolitical and regulatory risks in the semiconductor industry.

Qualcomm Moves to Arm’s Latest Tech to Boost AI Chips and Rival Apple, MediaTek

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Qualcomm has adopted the newest version of Arm Holdings’ chip architecture for its next generation of flagship processors, aiming to strengthen performance in artificial intelligence (AI) and better compete with Apple and MediaTek, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The decision represents a significant turning point in the relationship between the two companies after last year’s legal clash, which had raised doubts about whether Qualcomm would continue relying on Arm’s technology. The move is also expected to boost Arm’s revenue, as the company charges more for licensing its most advanced technology.

Arm’s shares rose 5% in regular trading after Reuters reported Qualcomm’s shift to its Arm v9 instruction set — the ninth generation of the company’s computing architecture.

AI PERFORMANCE AT THE CORE

Unlike previous generations, Qualcomm’s new PC and smartphone chips will incorporate Arm’s v9 architecture, which includes several enhancements tailored for AI tasks such as chatbots, image generation, and on-device learning.
Competitors MediaTek and Apple already use the v9 standard, which defines the fundamental instructions a processor can execute and determines compatibility with apps and software.

A Qualcomm spokesperson declined to confirm specific technologies but said the company’s internal CPU design team enables flexibility:

“We chose the instructions that make sense for our customers. That’s the beauty of having our own CPU design team — we can pick and choose the instructions that add value,” the company said.

LEGAL RIFTS GIVE WAY TO PRACTICALITY

The decision marks a pragmatic end to a strained chapter in Qualcomm and Arm’s relationship. The two companies had been locked in a licensing dispute after Arm threatened to revoke a key agreement, though it later withdrew the threat.

Despite the tensions, Qualcomm’s choice to stick with Arm’s latest architecture is seen as a vote of confidence in Arm’s long-term ecosystem.
Jay Goldberg, senior analyst at Seaport Research Partners, called the decision “very positive for Arm,” adding:

“These are companies that were fighting each other. Qualcomm could have gone a very different path here.”

ARM STRENGTHENS ITS POSITION

While Arm faces emerging competition from RISC-V, an open-source alternative architecture, analysts note that RISC-V remains decades behind in maturity and lacks a comparable developer community.

Because Qualcomm licenses Arm’s architecture rather than buying complete chip designs, the exact revenue impact for Arm is uncertain. However, the shift underscores Arm’s enduring dominance in mobile and AI chip design.

As AI workloads increasingly drive hardware innovation, Qualcomm’s adoption of Arm’s newest architecture signals that the next wave of chips will focus as much on intelligence and adaptability as on speed and power efficiency.

Arm to Appeal Court Ruling Upholding Qualcomm’s Victory in Licensing Dispute

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Arm announced on Tuesday that it will appeal a U.S. federal court decision that upheld Qualcomm’s jury victory in a long-running dispute over processor licensing rights, marking the latest escalation in a case with major implications for the semiconductor industry.

The dispute centers on central processor units (CPUs) designed by Qualcomm’s subsidiary Nuvia, which Arm claimed were produced using its technology without proper authorization. In 2023, a Delaware federal jury ruled that Qualcomm’s CPUs were properly licensed under an existing agreement with Arm, handing a key win to the U.S. chipmaker.

The jury sided with Qualcomm on two of three counts, while deadlocking on the third, leading Judge Maryellen Noreika to declare a mistrial on that issue. Arm later sought to have the favorable verdicts for Qualcomm overturned or to secure a new trial, but the judge rejected both requests.

“Arm remains confident in its position in its ongoing dispute with Qualcomm and will immediately file an appeal seeking to overturn the judgment,” the British chip designer said in a statement.

Qualcomm welcomed the decision, framing it as a validation of its innovation rights.

“Our right to innovate prevailed in this case, and we hope Arm will return to fair and competitive practices in dealing with the Arm ecosystem,” said Ann Chaplin, Qualcomm’s general counsel.

The ruling underscores tensions between Arm’s new licensing model and major semiconductor firms that depend on its architecture. Arm provides fundamental chip technology used in processors made by Qualcomm, Apple, and MediaTek, which power billions of smartphones and connected devices worldwide.

The appeal sets the stage for a closely watched legal battle that could influence how chipmakers access and use Arm’s core intellectual property in future CPU designs.