Qualcomm in talks to acquire Tenstorrent for $8–10B, expanding RISC-V AI chip portfolio
Qualcomm is in advanced negotiations to acquire Tenstorrent, an AI chip startup led by veteran designer Jim Keller, in a deal valued between $8 billion and $10 billion, according to The Information. Tenstorrent designs RISC-V-based AI accelerators aimed at running specific workloads more efficiently than general-purpose GPUs. The talks are ongoing with no certainty a deal will close, though the acquisition would align with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon's push into data center and AI infrastructure beyond smartphones.
Tenstorrent's Galaxy Blackhole AI compute platform packs 32 of its Blackhole accelerators (each with 768 RISC-V cores) into a 6U enclosure. The acquisition would give Qualcomm direct access to RISC-V IP and reduce its dependence on Arm licensing for infrastructure and server applications. Qualcomm is preparing to discuss its broader data center strategy at its June 24 Investor Day, including AI100 Ultra chips and partnerships with AWS, ByteDance, and others. The company previously acquired Alphawave Semi for $2.4 billion in 2024.
For infrastructure builders, a Qualcomm-Tenstorrent combination would create a new RISC-V alternative to Arm and GPU-dominant AI chip markets. Architects shipping large-scale AI systems care because open RISC-V architecture reduces licensing constraints and vendor lock-in compared to proprietary designs, though integration risk remains high given Qualcomm's mixed track record integrating chip acquisitions and competing with entrenched Nvidia and AMD in data center.
Sources
- Primary source
- theregister.com
“Qualcomm is reportedly moving to buy AI chip firm Tenstorrent, an acquisition that could prove a major boost to the RISC-V ecosystem. This comes from The Information, which cites an anonymous source claiming that a deal valued at $8 billion to $10 billion is under discussion.”
- theregister.com
“Tenstorrent is a Canadian AI chip startup that bases its products on the permissively licensed RISC-V processor architecture. The company is led by CPU guru Jim Keller, known for his design work at AMD, Apple, and on DEC's Alpha chips. The firm's Galaxy Blackhole AI compute platform went on sale earlier this year, packing 32 of its Blackhole accelerators, each with 768 RISC-V cores, into a 6U enclosure.”
- gurufocus.com
“Tenstorrent, founded by renowned chip expert Jim Keller, claims that its chips outperform general-purpose GPUs from industry giants like NVIDIA for specific AI tasks.”