Qualcomm acquires Alphawave for $2.4 billion and expands into the AI ​​data center market

Qualcomm is making a major migration to AI data center space. On Monday, the US chipmaker announced it had acquired British semiconductor company Alphawave for around $2.4 billion, Reuters reported. In the news, Alphawave shares have skyrocketed nearly 25%. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

This is Qualcomm’s second major AI acquisition within two months. In April, the tech giant featured the Generation AI division of Vietnamese startup Vinai. This is a movement aimed at enhancing the AI ​​capabilities of the device. Meanwhile, Alphawave trading is competing in the growing AI data center market, putting Qualcomm in a stronger position.

Listed on the London Stock Exchange under Ticker AWE.L, Alphawave is developing high-speed connectivity technology used in data centres. This is the latest in a wave of UK-based tech companies filmed by American buyers, with ratings still behind, and the open market is not appealing to homemade lists.

For Qualcomm, this isn’t just another acquisition. Shifting the gear. Known for its advantages in smartphone chips, the company relies less on mobile phones, including AI infrastructure, data centers and PCs. The shift has covered urgency as one of Qualcomm’s biggest clients, Apple, continues to drive chip production in-house.

“Qualcomm also made two alternative all-share offers for Alphawave on Monday after multiple deadline extensions from the UK acquisition panel. However, Alphawave plans to unanimously recommend a cash offer to shareholders to shareholders and considers it fair and reasonable,” Reuters reported.

“The acquisition of Alphawave Semi aims to further accelerate and provide key assets for Qualcomm’s expansion into data centers,” the company said.

Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon said that Alphawave “developed high-speed wired connections and computational techniques to complement the power-efficient central processing units and neural processing unit cores.”

Alphawave shareholders will earn 183p per share. This is a massive premium of 96% more than the stock’s closing price on March 31st, just before Qualcomm first showed interest. Currently, even if the stock is trading above the offer price, the board plans to unanimously recommend trading and call it “fair and reasonable.”

Qualcomm did not stop on one offer. After several deadline extensions by the UK acquisition panel, we made two alternative all-sell bids before settling all of this cash proposal.

Meanwhile, a source cited by Reuters said SoftBank-owned arm also appeared in the mix, exploring the acquisition earlier this year, but ultimately decided not to pursue it.

Analysts at Jefferies say the acquisition is unlikely to hit serious regulatory obstacles, particularly after Alphawave leaves China’s joint venture WiseWave.