Chipmaker Qualcomm is trying to acquire rival Intel, according to multiple reports.
The Wall Street Journal announced the news late Friday that Qualcomm had approached Intel about an acquisition. The New York Times then confirmed the storywhile adding that no official offer has been made.
Even if an offer is made, it is not clear whether Intel would accept it or whether regulators would approve it. (Qualcomm did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment; Intel declined to comment.)
Once an industry leader, Intel has struggled due to a lack of mobile strategy. It reported a loss of $1.6 billion in the second quarter of this year and implemented a $10 billion cost-cutting plan that would cut 15,000 jobs. It also moves to divest its chip foundry activities as an independent subsidiary.
Intel currently has a market cap of about $90 billion, while Qualcomm’s is about $190 billion. Both companies have recently been overshadowed by Nvidia as the AI boom drives chip demand.