# Qualcomm in Talks to Buy Tenstorrent for Up to $10 Billion, Targeting Nvidia's AI Chip Dominance With Open-Source RISC-V

*2026-06-26 02:02 UTC · Technology · 1 min read*

> Qualcomm is in talks to acquire Tenstorrent, Jim Keller's RISC-V AI chip startup, for up to $10 billion — a direct challenge to Nvidia's dominance in AI hardware.

Qualcomm is in advanced talks to acquire Tenstorrent — the AI chip startup led by legendary chip architect Jim Keller — for between $8 billion and $10 billion, tripling the company's valuation from $3.2 billion just one year ago. Neither company has publicly confirmed the negotiations, which were first reported by Reuters.

Tenstorrent designs AI accelerators built on the open RISC-V processor standard, positioning them as a direct challenger to Nvidia's proprietary CUDA-based GPU ecosystem. The company's software stack, TT-Metalium, is released under a permissive MIT open-source license, lowering the barrier for developers to adopt non-Nvidia AI hardware.

For Qualcomm — primarily known for mobile chips — acquiring Tenstorrent would represent a major bet on AI data centers and an attempt to erode Nvidia's near-monopoly on AI compute. Keller, who previously designed chips at Apple, AMD, and Intel, is widely regarded as one of the most consequential chip architects alive today.

## Sources

- [finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/qualcomm-talks-acquire-ai-chip-230401789.html)
- [datacenterdynamics.com](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/qualcomm-considers-acquiring-ai-chip-firm-tenstorrent/)
- [aiweekly.co](https://aiweekly.co/alerts/qualcomm-targets-tenstorrent-in-reported-10b-risc-v-deal)

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TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/1892-qualcomm-in-talks-to-buy-tenstorrent-for-up-to-10-billion-targeting-nvidia-s-ai
Česká verze: https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/1965-qualcomm-jedna-o-koupi-tenstorrentu-za-az-10-miliard-dolaru-miri-na-dominanci