Shares of Qualcomm surged 5.5% to $30,440 as twin catalysts hit the tape: reports that Qualcomm has been in discussions to acquire Tenstorrent, a startup that designs specialized chips for running AI models , and growing excitement around its new data center brand. If completed, the deal would rank among the largest AI hardware acquisitions in recent years — and it signals that Qualcomm's CEO Cristiano Amon is willing to spend aggressively to break into the market Nvidia dominates.
A $10 Billion Price Tag for a Company Last Valued at $3.2 Billion
Qualcomm is reportedly negotiating a price between $8 billion and $10 billion . Tenstorrent commanded $3.2 billion in its last fundraise , meaning Qualcomm would pay a roughly 3x premium. Given that Qualcomm already has AI acceleration and CPU technology, some observers say paying that sum would be difficult to justify — the hardware business at Tenstorrent remains small. What Qualcomm really buys is legendary chip architect Jim Keller and a team with deep expertise in RISC-V, the open-source chip architecture that avoids costly licensing fees paid to Arm.
The Data Center Push Now Has a Name — and a Revenue Target
Qualcomm officially introduced "Dragonfly" as its dedicated brand for data center products at Computex. CEO Amon said the data center business would generate "meaningful revenue in the billions of dollars" beginning in fiscal 2027 . The company is preparing server processors, AI inference accelerators, and custom chips , and has already secured a supply agreement with AI company Humain for a 200-megawatt-scale data center . Tenstorrent's technology would slot directly into that roadmap.
Wall Street Is Raising Targets, but Not Pounding the Table
JPMorgan raised its price target from $160 to $265 , and Wells Fargo lifted its target from $160 to $230 while maintaining an Equal-Weight rating . Notably, both kept neutral-equivalent ratings — they see upside but want proof that Dragonfly revenue materializes. JPMorgan projects data center revenues exceeding $3 billion by fiscal 2027 and around $35 billion by fiscal 2031 .
The Investor Day on June 24 Will Be the Real Test
Qualcomm said additional details about Dragonfly will be revealed during its Investor Day event on June 24 in New York . Until then, the stock is trading on narrative, not numbers. Tenstorrent is still exploring both funding and acquisition options, and discussions could end without a deal . If either catalyst disappoints, the recent 15% five-day rally has very little fundamental floor beneath it.