Mobile AP Industry Actively Diversifies Business... Responding to Increasing Applications

Qualcomm Expands Business in Metaverse and Automotive Fields
ARM Secures IPO Funds to Announce Portfolio Expansion
Samsung Electronics: "SoC Potential is Limitless"

Semiconductor image / Source=Pixabay

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] Major players in the mobile application processor (AP) market, a core component of smartphones, are focusing on diversifying their portfolios. They are striving to secure new growth engines in wearables, automobiles, data centers, and the metaverse. This reflects their response to the increasing demand driven by technological advancements.

According to the semiconductor industry on the 6th, Qualcomm participated in IFA 2022, Europe's largest consumer electronics exhibition held in Berlin, Germany, on the 2nd (local time), and formed partnerships with Meta, Bose, and others. They expanded their business with partners they have collaborated with for years.

Qualcomm decided to cooperate with Meta in developing extended reality (XR) technology as part of expanding its metaverse business. They plan to supply customized chipsets for products based on Meta's virtual reality (VR) platform. With Bose, Qualcomm will provide system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for future audio products used in homes and automobiles. They also explained that Qualcomm chipsets will be supplied for Bose's wireless earphones, headphones, and soundbars.

Foreign media such as CNBC described Qualcomm's recent collaborations as another way to expand its business portfolio beyond smartphones. Qualcomm is actively seeking new revenue streams by providing chipsets in various new businesses beyond mobile APs. CNBC highlighted Qualcomm's announcement in January of a partnership with Microsoft (MS) for augmented reality (AR) business and its portfolio expansion led by the Snapdragon chassis automotive platform.

This kind of business diversification is becoming a trend in the mobile AP industry. Semiconductor intellectual property (IP) company ARM, which holds core mobile AP design technology, announced that it will use the funds raised through its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange and others to expand its portfolio. Rene Haas, ARM's CEO, concretized plans for business diversification into automobiles, data centers, and the metaverse in an interview with the UK Financial Times in June.

Samsung Electronics, which aims to expand its SoC business beyond increasing mobile AP market share, also considers portfolio expansion a long-term task. To improve the soundness of its business structure, which has been focused on mobile, it is expanding applications to wearables, modems for laptops, and Wi-Fi product lines beyond smartphones. Kim Mingu, head of SoC development at Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Business Division, emphasized last month through the company newsroom content that "the role of SoCs is boundless in future industries such as the metaverse, autonomous driving, and 6G."

The semiconductor industry expects that the portfolio diversification efforts of major mobile AP players will increase further in the future. As technological advancements create demand in various fields, companies are able to respond accordingly. An industry insider said, "The smartphone market will inevitably continue to grow, so businesses centered on mobile APs will continue, but applications are diversifying as demand for SoCs in autonomous vehicles and the Internet of Things (IoT) increases," adding, "This is a way to respond to demand with future-oriented businesses."