Qualcomm in Talks to Acquire AI Chip Startup Tenstorrent for Up to $10 Billion, Reuters Reports

Reuters reports Qualcomm is in active talks to acquire Tenstorrent, a RISC-V-based AI chip startup backed by investors including Hyundai and LG, for a valuation up to $10 billion. For Qualcomm — which posted $44.3B in revenue (+13.7% YoY) but a relatively thin 12.5% net margin — a $10B acquisition would be its largest ever, representing a significant leverage event and a direct play to compete in the data center and edge AI inference market against Nvidia and AMD.

The key watch is deal confirmation, pricing, and financing structure: cash vs. stock vs. debt will meaningfully change the EPS math on QCOM's $5.01 diluted EPS base. Tenstorrent's RISC-V architecture is seen as a credible alternative to ARM-based designs, but the startup has no public revenue track record, making valuation hard to anchor. Expect QCOM to trade on deal risk premium until a formal announcement or denial.