Qualcomm targets Tenstorrent for data center push

Qualcomm is in advanced talks to acquire Tenstorrent at a valuation between $8 billion and $10 billion, according to reports cited in the source. Neither company has commented publicly, and discussions remain fluid, but the potential deal would give Qualcomm a RISC-V-based AI accelerator architecture aimed at inference workloads where Tenstorrent argues Nvidia’s GPU approach is less efficient.

The move would extend Qualcomm’s broader shift beyond mobile chips and reduce its reliance on Arm. Qualcomm won its lawsuit against Arm in December 2024, acquired RISC-V server chip designer Ventana Micro Systems in December 2025, and completed its $2.4 billion purchase of Alphawave Semi. Tenstorrent would add the accelerator layer needed for a fuller data center stack.

Tenstorrent’s Galaxy Blackhole platform reached general availability on April 28, 2026, strengthening its valuation case after earlier fundraising discussions around roughly $3.2 billion. Its Tensix architecture uses local on-chip SRAM and a Network-on-Chip mesh to reduce DRAM access during inference, but its TT-Metalium software stack remains less mature than CUDA and requires more explicit data-management work from developers.

Investor expectations are tied to Qualcomm’s June 24 Investor Day, where analysts expect data center targets and possibly a hyperscaler customer. Risks include talent retention, especially around Jim Keller, limited independent benchmarks, and regulatory clearance across multiple jurisdictions.