Qualcomm in talks to buy Tenstorrent

Qualcomm is in talks to acquire AI chip startup ​Tenstorrent for $8 billion to $10 billion.

Shares of Qualcomm fell about 1% ​in extended trading.

The talks were ongoing ​and the price could change, or the ⁠discussions could fall apart, according to the ​report. It was not clear if the price ​will include performance-based milestone payments, a structure used in the past to buy chip startups, the Information ​added.

Qualcomm and Tenstorrent did not immediately respond ​to Reuters’ requests for comment. Reuters could not independently ‌verify ⁠the report.

One of the world’s largest suppliers of smartphone chips, Qualcomm has increasingly sought to reduce its dependence on the cyclical handset ​market by ​expanding into ⁠high-growth segments such as data center processors and autonomous vehicle chips.

Founded ​in 2016, Tenstorrent is headed by ​Jim ⁠Keller, a former Apple chip designer who also oversaw Tesla’s efforts to design a chip ⁠for ​autonomous driving.

The startup develops ​accelerators for training AI models and running AI applications. Reuters