AI Accelerator Chips AI200 and AI250 Unveiled for Data Centers
First Supplied to Saudi Arabia's Humane... 200MW-Class System to Be Built
U.S. semiconductor company Qualcomm has officially announced the launch of artificial intelligence (AI) chips for data centers, directly challenging industry leader Nvidia.
On October 27 (local time), Qualcomm revealed plans to release its next-generation AI accelerator chips, the "AI200" and "AI250," in 2026 and 2027, respectively. This announcement marks Qualcomm's formal entry into the data center AI semiconductor market, signaling a significant shift from its traditional focus on mobile processors.
The AI200, set to launch next year, will be available not only as a standalone chip but also as an expansion card for existing servers or as a full-rack server system directly provided by Qualcomm. The first customer will be Humane, an AI startup based in Saudi Arabia. Starting in 2026, Qualcomm plans to build a 200-megawatt (MW) computing system and operate data centers based on the AI200.
Qualcomm also plans to launch the AI250 in 2027. When supplied as a chip, this product can operate on equipment based on processors from Nvidia or other companies. However, if Qualcomm provides it as a complete server system, it will compete directly with server products from Nvidia and AMD.
Through this product lineup, Qualcomm intends to make a full-scale entry into the data center market for powering AI software and services. This sector is a core area of the semiconductor industry, attracting massive global corporate investments and currently led by Nvidia.
Although Qualcomm was a dominant force in the mobile semiconductor field, it is a latecomer to the AI era. Nevertheless, the company aims to secure a new growth engine by leveraging these data center AI chips.
Following the announcement, Qualcomm's stock price surged by 15.88% as of 10:54 a.m. on the New York Stock Exchange, marking its largest increase in six months.
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