Qualcomm CEO Jacobs: Do not rule out the possibility of self-built chip factory

On June 29 news, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said on Wednesday that he would not rule out the possibility of building a chip factory or using company cash to ensure the supply of important parts.

Jacobs said at the press conference in San Diego on the same day that Qualcomm is working with suppliers to evaluate different business options and will consider “signing big cheques. If this is done in the future, I will not The practice said no.” But he also pointed out that compared to the self-built chip factory, Qualcomm is more inclined to continue to rely on existing partners to produce chips: “Self-built chip factory is not an important matter for our priority, but I will not This possibility is completely eliminated."

At present, more and more chip manufacturers focus on chip design, and then outsource the chip production to other companies, and Qualcomm is the largest of such chip manufacturers. With the surge in demand for smart phones, parts suppliers are hard to keep up with this market demand. This has prompted electronic device manufacturers such as Apple to use hundreds of millions of dollars in cash to ensure parts supply.

Daniel Berenbaum, an analyst at market research firm MKM Partners LLC, said: “Investors’ first reaction to Qualcomm’s chip factory is not positive and believes that this move will change Qualcomm’s business model.” He pointed out that The pre-paid form of ensuring the availability of existing partners' chip supply will be a "reasonable use of cash."

Qualcomm said earlier this year that due to the inability to obtain sufficient chip supply from TSMC, the company’s profit growth will be limited. Given that chips manufactured using the most advanced production processes are well received by the market, the number of such chips received by Qualcomm exceeds expectations.

Jacobs said that although due to improvements in chip supply, Qualcomm may be able to provide sufficient chips to meet the needs of mobile phone production by the end of this year, but some customers will still be unable to launch their mobile phones as planned.

Jacobs also said on Wednesday that the device equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon processor will be released later this year, when Microsoft will release Windows RT operating system. He said that the Snapdragon processor will be able to support the lightest and thinnest computer products on the market.

Qualcomm is one of the three chip vendors that have collaborated with Microsoft to develop ARM processor-based devices. Microsoft will support ARM chips for the first time in the Windows operating system. The ARM chip occupies a dominant position in the mobile phone market and is also a core component of the Apple iPad.

Nvidia and Texas Instruments are also working with Microsoft to launch ARM-based tablets and PCs. Intel and AMD are also working hard to develop products that match the touchscreen-capable Windows operating system. The processors of both vendors traditionally support Windows computer products.

Windows 8 and Windows RT are Microsoft's first operating systems for touch displays. The former supports the Intel x86 and AMD architectures, and the latter supports the ARM architecture. On Wednesday, Qualcomm shares closed at 54.91 US dollars on the New York Stock Exchange, up 1.8% from the previous trading day, but the stock has not changed much since this year.

Google said on Wednesday that its Nexus Tablet PC will use the Nvidia Tegra processor and carry the latest Android operating system. Previously, the Microsoft Surface tablet also used the Nvidia Tegra processor.

Jacobs said Microsoft and Google's decisions were made before Qualcomm released the Snapdragon upgrade. He said that the dual-core Snapdragon processor outperforms the quad-core Tegra processor.

Jacobs said: "The choice of manufacturers depends on the timing. Our dual-core processors are superior to Tegra quad-core processors." Nvidia spokesman Hector Marinez responded by saying: Bad, let the design itself prove it."