Qualcomm's CEO talks AI, semiconductor partnerships in India during Modi meeting

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Cristiano Amon, the President and CEO of Qualcomm, in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss new partnerships in artificial intelligence, semiconductor production, and the country’s growing technology ecosystem, according to Modi’s office.

The meeting came as India continues its push to become a global hub for chip manufacturing and AI innovation. Modi said on X that:

“It was a wonderful meeting with Mr. Cristiano R. Amon and discussing India’s strides in AI, innovation and skilling. Great to see Qualcomm’s commitment towards India’s semiconductor and AI missions. India offers unmatched talent and scale to build technologies that will shape our collective future.”

Interestingly, the timing of their meeting coincided with an escalating situation abroad. Just a day before, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) launched an antitrust investigation into Qualcomm over its acquisition of Israel’s Autotalks, adding more pressure on the American chip giant as global trade tensions grow.

The regulator said the probe would determine whether the company failed to legally disclose aspects of the $ Autotalks deal, which was completed in June after more than two years of reviews.

China opens probe as Qualcomm stock falls

Qualcomm’s stock had dropped by nearly 6% during Friday’s close after investors freaked out over China’s investigation. The Autotalks deal had been cleared months earlier, but Beijing’s regulators said Qualcomm might have violated China’s antimonopoly law by withholding transaction details.

In a statement, the company said it is fully cooperating with the probe and remains “committed to supporting the development and growth of our customers and partners.” It continues to supply chips to Chinese firms such as Xiaomi, even as Washington and Beijing clash over control of semiconductor supply chains.

The probe, announced just weeks before high-level U.S.-China meetings, puts the firm squarely in the crossfire of economic politics.

While this was happening, India is positioning itself as an alternative manufacturing and research base for global chip companies. The government has offered billions in subsidies to attract investors into AI-driven and semiconductor projects.

Qualcomm’s expanding presence in India fits into this plan as the country prepares new data and compute centers to support machine learning, robotics, and industrial automation.

Qualcomm expands into robotics with Arduino acquisition

Earlier on Tuesday, Qualcomm announced it would acquire Arduino, the Italian electronics company known for its low-cost programmable circuit boards used by robotics labs and hardware startups, though Qualcomm confirmed Arduino will operate as an independent subsidiary.

The decision gives Qualcomm access to the grassroots level of the robotics industry, reaching developers, tinkerers, and startups that rely on Arduino boards for prototyping.

Arduino’s kits, which come with chips preinstalled, aren’t used in commercial products but are vital for building and testing early-stage AI models and robotic systems.

“You start to move towards prototyping, proof of concepts, and once you’re ready, you can go commercial, which is something we are obviously very familiar with,” said Nakul Duggal, Qualcomm’s general manager for automotive, industrial, and IoT.

Tuesday’s announcement said Arduino will, for the first time, release a board with a Qualcomm chip. It’s called the Uno Q and, priced at $45 to $55, comes equipped with a Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 processor.

The Arduino acquisition is reportedly part of Qualcomm’s plan to diversify beyond smartphones as demand plateaus and Apple develops its own modem chips.

Qualcomm’s IoT and automotive divisions already make up about 30% of its total chip revenue, and for smaller developers, the deal opens access to Qualcomm’s technology, which was previously limited to large enterprises.

Rival Nvidia, meanwhile, has been selling its robotics developer kits directly to consumers for about $249, calling robotics its next big market after AI. Qualcomm’s latest deals suggest it’s ready to compete head-to-head in that space.

As the company faces regulatory pushback in China, its alignment with India’s government-backed AI and semiconductor ambitions could become its strongest path forward.

Get $50 free to trade crypto when you sign up to Bybit now