Qualcomm strengthens AI portfolio with $2.4 billion Alphawave deal
U.S. chipmaker
Qualcomm
on Monday agreed to acquire British semiconductor company
Alphawave
for about $2.4 billion as part of efforts to strengthen its artificial intelligence technology.
Alphawave shareholders will receive 183 pence per share, a nearly 96% premium to the price immediately before Qualcomm disclosed its interest in the company. The shares jumped 22% in early London trade to just below the offer price.
U.S.-based firms have been snapping up British assets, taking advantage of a market that is plagued by comparatively weaker valuations and stunted growth.
Alphawave, which designs and licenses semiconductor technology for data centers, networking and storage, had garnered takeover interest from Qualcomm and SoftBank-owned chip tech provider Arm in early April for its 'serdes' technology.
The technology underpins the speed at which data is processed by chips - crucial for AI development - and serves as the foundation for Broadcom's and Marvell Technology's multibillion-dollar bespoke chip businesses.
Arm walked away after initial discussions with Alphawave, Reuters exclusively reported in April citing sources.
Qualcomm also tabled two alternative all-share offers to Alphawave's shareholders, after receiving multiple extensions from the UK's takeover panel to table a firm offer.
The British company said it considers the terms of the cash offer to be fair and reasonable and intends to unanimously recommend it to its shareholders.
Alphawave also completed the disposal of its stake in WiseWave, its joint venture with Chinese investment firm Wise Road Capital, to existing state shareholders on Monday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
37 minutes ago
- NDTV
Electric Passenger Vehicle Retail Sales Contribute 4.1 Per Cent Market Share In May25
India's electric passenger vehicle market continued its upward trajectory in May 2025, demonstrating notable year-on-year growth in retail sales. According to the latest data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), electric cars now comprise 4.1 percent of the total passenger vehicle market, an increase from 2.6 percent in May 2024. Below is a detailed overview of how different car manufacturers performed last month. Electric Passenger Vehicle Retail: May 2025 Overview Tata Motors remained the leading company in the EV segment, selling 4,351 units in May 2025. Although this is a slight decrease from 4,436 units sold in April 2025, Tata still maintained its position as the market leader, despite an 18.08 percent drop compared to the same month last year. JSW MG Motor India secured the second spot by selling 3,765 units. The company showed strong performance, recording an 8.75 percent increase over April and a remarkable 149.83 percent rise compared to May 2024. Mahindra & Mahindra reported sales of 2,632 units, reflecting an impressive year-on-year growth of 343.10 percent. However, there was an 11.65 percent decrease compared to sales in April. Hyundai Motor India also saw substantial growth, with 606 electric vehicles (EVs) sold, indicating a remarkable year-on-year increase of 488.35 percent. However, this represents a decline of 10.49 percent from April's figures. Chinese manufacturer BYD India performed strongly, delivering 494 units-an increase of 42.77 percent from April and 179.10 percent year-on-year. BMW India continued to see consistent growth in its luxury EV sector, with sales reaching 174 units in May, marking a 38.10 percent rise month-on-month and a 135.14 percent increase year-on-year. PCA Automobiles India experienced one of the highest month-on-month improvements, selling 123 units in May, a significant jump from 48 units in April, which translates to a 156.25 percent increase. Their year-on-year growth is at 41.38 percent. Mercedes-Benz sold 88 EVs, showing a 10 percent increase over April and a 37.5 percent year-on-year rise. Volvo Auto India experienced a slight downturn, with sales falling to 33 units, down 5.71 percent month-on-month and 21.43 percent year-on-year. Kia India sold 26 EVs, reflecting a 16.13 percent decline from April; however, it still showed a positive year-on-year growth of 18.18 percent. Other electric manufacturers collectively accounted for 12 units sold in the month of May 2025, down from 48 units, demonstrating a significant decline of 75 percent compared to May 2024.
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
No impact of rare earth magnet shortage on production so far, says Maruti Chairman
Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava on Monday said there is no impact on the company's production due to the shortage of rare earth magnets as of now. His comments come against the backdrop of restrictions imposed by the Chinese government since April 4 on the export of rare earth elements and related magnets. China has mandated special export licences for seven rare earth elements and related magnets. China controls over 90 per cent of global processing capacity for the magnets, used across sectors including automobiles, home appliances and clean energy. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Invest today with in Shriram's ULIP Shriram Life Insurance Undo "There is no impact at the moment," Bhargava told PTI when asked if the auto major is facing any production issues due to the global shortage. The production activity at the country's largest carmaker is going on as planned, he added. Live Events When asked if the company sees a production crunch over the next few months due to the issue, he noted: "If the licenses come through and they are supposed to come through, there would not be a problem." The domestic automobile industry has sought government support in expediting approvals from the Chinese government for importing rare earth magnets used in various applications, including passenger cars. As per the industry sources, various domestic suppliers have already sought approval from the Chinese government through their local vendors in China. However, no approvals have been granted so far. Many companies are facing the heat due to the shortage of critical raw materials used across multiple sectors including the automobile industry. The critical materials include samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium and lutetium, which are essential in electric motors, braking systems, smartphones and missile technology.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Rapido's food delivery war chest; Starlink's gotcha moment
Rapido's food delivery war chest; Starlink's gotcha moment Also in the letter: Nexus Venture to invest Rs 125 crore in Rapido ahead of food delivery launch Driving the news: Deal details: Rapido will levy commissions between 8% and 15%. These numbers are significantly lower than the 16% to 30% charged by Swiggy and Zomato, as per terms agreed with the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI). Orders below Rs 400 will attract a fixed Rs 25 fee, and Rs 50 on orders above that. Current status: Also Read: Satcom permit may force Starlink to share information on illegal kits seized Hesitant to comply: Starlink has been reluctant to share information about its Indian users from the period before it secured official permission. The company asked security agencies to route such requests through US law enforcement channels or international cooperation protocols. This led India's home ministry to escalate the matter to the telecom department (DoT) in March, officials aware of the details told us. Crackdown possible: Threat perception: Sponsor ETtech Top 5 & Morning Dispatch! Why it matters: The opportunity: Reach a highly engaged audience of decision-makers. Boost your brand's visibility among the tech-savvy community. Custom sponsorship options to align with your brand's goals. What's next: Meta to throw billions at startup that leads AI data market Driving the news: Tell me more: Win-win: Consumer watchdog directs etailers to shun dark patterns What's the news: Break it down: The CCPA categorises these tactics as: For context: AI to replace coders? Not just yet, says Google CEO Sundar Pichai What did he say? Pichai noted that while AI now supports around 30% of the code written at Google, it is unlocking new possibilities and helping people achieve more. AI, he explained, handles the repetitive and time-consuming aspects of coding, freeing developers to focus on creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. What else? Rapido has bagged fresh capital from an investor ahead of its food delivery rollout. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.■ Meta's new AI bet■ War on dark patterns■ Pichai on coding jobsNexus Venture Partners will invest Rs 125 crore (around $15 million) in mobility unicorn Rapido as a part of a larger financing round last year that valued it at $1.1 billion, the urban mobility platform said in a filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).The fresh infusion precedes Rapido's food delivery push , with a pilot in Bengaluru due to start later this month or early July. To this end, Rapido finalised its food delivery partnership terms with restaurants, offering commissions nearly half of what rivals Swiggy and Zomato bike-taxi riders currently have a limited, non-exclusive 'idle-time' partnership with Swiggy for food delivery in selected move comes amid rising complaints from small restaurant owners about what they call 'steep charges' from Zomato and could be forced to disclose details about its satellite kits that were seized in India before the company received formal approval to operate . Indian security agencies have raised concerns over the unauthorised use of Starlink equipment, particularly in sensitive border DoT may issue a show cause notice to Starlink and could even revoke its permit if the company continues to withhold the requested commercial satellite communication services via low earth orbit (LEO) networks like Starlink, is still relatively new, its implications for national security remain unclear. With Starlink now live in India's neighboring countries such as Bhutan and Bangladesh, there are fears that the terminals could be smuggled into Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@ to explore sponsorship intelligence startup Scale AI is set to receive a multibillion dollar investment from Meta in what could be the largest private company funding rounds in financing could exceed $10 billion, making it Meta's biggest ever external AI investment, and a rare move for a company that typically builds in-house. Scale was last valued at $14 billion in 2024 after a funding round that involved Meta and put, Scale specialises in data that powers artificial intelligence. It labels the data used by companies like Meta and OpenAI to train and refine their models, and helps businesses build custom AI applications. The company draws on a wide talent pool, from PhD scholars to nurses, to develop more nuanced and capable AI Meta, partnering more deeply with Scale may help it keep pace with AI rivals like Google and OpenAI, while building deeper ties with the US government at a time when it's pushing more into defence tech. For Scale, Meta can be a powerful and deep-pocketed consumer rights authority has instructed all ecommerce platforms to eliminate deceptive and unfair trade practices , commonly known as dark Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued an advisory asking online marketplaces to conduct self-audits within three months to identify dark patterns, and ensure their platforms are free from such patterns are manipulative design tactics used to mislead consumers into spending more than they urgency, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, forced action, subscription trap, interface interference, bait and switch, drip pricing, disguised advertisements and nagging, trick wording, SaaS billing, and rogue May, consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi met with stakeholders to address growing concerns around dark patterns and explore ways to curb them. The advisory directing platforms to carry out self-audits follows from that that fail to comply with the guidelines will face legal action, the minister rise has prompted many executives and studies to suggest that it could replace human jobs. But Google CEO Sundar Pichai offered a more optimistic view in a recent interview with Lex also confirmed that Google still plans to hire more engineers next emphasised that the real value lies in how much AI is improving productivity, particularly in what Google calls "engineering velocity," a measure of how quickly and effectively development teams can deliver updates and to Google's internal estimates, AI has boosted engineering velocity by around 10%.
