Qualcomm to Acquire Alphawave in $2.4 Billion Datacentre Chiplet Push

Qualcomm continues its streak of acquisitions with the recent announcement of the purchase of IP and chiplet supplier Alphawave Semi for $2.4 billion, just days after finalizing the surprise acquisition of V2X chip designer Autotalks. The deal for Alphawave, a company based in Canada but listed in the UK, will be led by Aqua Acquisition Sub, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm.

This strategic move is set to accelerate Qualcomm’s expansion into data centers with custom CPUs, following its acquisition of custom ARM core developer Nuvia for $1.4 billion earlier in 2021. The Oryon CPU, developed as a result of the Nuvia purchase, along with the Hexagon NPU processors, are now being targeted at AI inferencing and the shift to custom CPUs in data centers.

Alphawave Semi has transitioned from focusing solely on IP to providing chiplets, having acquired RISC-V core designer OpenFive. Additionally, the company has a partnership with Siemens EDA to supply IP to customers, further solidifying its position in the market.

Under the leadership of Tony Pialis, Alphawave Semi has made significant strides in developing high-speed wired connectivity and compute technologies that complement Qualcomm’s power-efficient CPU and NPU cores. Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm, expressed excitement about the acquisition, highlighting the alignment of the two companies in driving advanced technology solutions and enhancing connected computing performance across various high-growth areas.

According to Tony Pialis, the acquisition represents a major milestone for Alphawave Semi, providing an opportunity to collaborate with a respected industry leader like Qualcomm to deliver enhanced value to customers. The combined resources and expertise of both companies are expected to broaden product offerings, expand the customer base, and strengthen technological capabilities, ultimately fostering growth and innovation in AI compute and connectivity solutions.

In a recent development, Alphawave successfully taped out one of the industry’s first UCIe IP subsystems on TSMC’s N2 2nm process, supporting impressive 36G die-to-die data rates and compatible with TSMC’s advanced packaging technology. This achievement, boasting 36G performance and 11.8 Tbps/mm bandwidth density, signifies a significant advancement in the open chiplet ecosystem.

Mohit Gupta, Senior VP & GM of Custom Silicon & IP at Alphawave Semi, emphasized the importance of this milestone in ushering in the N2 era and validating high-density, power-efficient chiplet connectivity critical for AI and high-radix networking applications. The collaboration with TSMC underscores a shared commitment to driving advancements in high-performance computing through innovative design solutions leveraging TSMC’s cutting-edge process and packaging technologies.

The acquisition of Alphawave Semi by Qualcomm is anticipated to take approximately a year, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2026, pending approvals from UK regulators. This strategic move is poised to further solidify Qualcomm’s position in the data center market and drive innovation in AI compute and connectivity solutions, setting the stage for future growth and technological advancements.