A US court has ruled that Qualcomm did not breach its agreement with Arm when it acquired Nuvia, a startup founded by three former Apple engineers, for $1.4 billion in 2021. This will ensure Qualcomm’s presence in the PC market, at least for a while.
A US court has ruled that Qualcomm did not breach its agreement with Arm when it acquired Nuvia, a startup founded by three former Apple engineers, for $1.4 billion in 2021. This will ensure Qualcomm’s presence in the PC market, at least for a while.
The ruling follows a two-year trial in which Qualcomm was accused of misusing a chip design that Arm licensed to Nuvia before it acquired it, Reuters reports. Despite Qualcomm’s victory, a jury was unable to determine whether Nuvia breached its agreement with Arm, meaning the case could be retried.
«We are pleased with today’s decision. The jury upheld Qualcomm’s right to innovate and confirmed that all of Qualcomm’s products at issue in the case are protected by Qualcomm’s contract with Arm. We will continue to develop world-class products that lead in performance and benefit consumers around the world, along with our incredible ARM-compatible Oryon processors,» Qualcomm said in a statement after the verdict.
Qualcomm bought Nuvia for $1.4 billion to expand its lineup of next-generation chips, such as the Snapdragon X chips that power the current Copilot Plus laptops. The Register notes that these products include the Qualcomm Snapdragon X-Elite and X-Plus processors, which are currently used in various AI-powered computers, as well as the Snapdragon 8 Elite chips for smartphones.
If the jury were to rule in Arm’s favor, the lawsuit could significantly impact Qualcomm’s push into the PC market, forcing it to rework its SoC designs or renegotiate its less favorable royalty rates with Arm. The latter could lead to higher product prices, making it less competitive with x86-based AI computers from Intel and AMD.
Recall that in the spring of 2024, Qualcomm announced the release of the Snapdragon X Plus laptop processor, and also provided additional information about the previously announced Snapdragon X Elite chips. While Qualcomm processors are not the first in laptops, this is the first time the company has released a chip that competes with Apple, Intel, and AMD in speed.
In the fall, it became known that Qualcomm Ukraine’s subsidiary received revenue of UAH 39 million in its first year of existence.
