Qualcomm on September 8 announced a multi-generational collaboration with Amazon to develop customized silicon for large-scale AI inference data centers, while a filing showed Amazon received a warrant to buy up to 25 million Qualcomm shares. The structure links Amazon’s potential equity position to commercial agreements, orders and purchases that can total up to $60 billion in payments for Qualcomm server-chip products and services.
The collaboration also covers optical connectivity solutions with speeds of up to 1.6 terabits per second, according to Qualcomm’s announcement. The warrant gives Amazon a potential ownership interest in the chipmaker alongside its role as a customer.
Amazon’s warrant can reach 25 million Qualcomm shares
Qualcomm disclosed in an SEC filing that Amazon received a warrant for as many as 25 million Qualcomm shares at $161.26 per share—roughly $4 billion at that price.
Those shares vest in tranches tied to Amazon’s commercial agreements, binding purchase orders and purchases of Qualcomm server-chip products and services. The warrant therefore gives Amazon a right to purchase the shares rather than an immediate acquisition of the full stake, with access to the full number dependent on the specified commercial activity.
Share vesting is tied to $60 billion in Qualcomm commitments
The vesting milestones cover up to $60 billion in payments, according to the filing.
The shares vest in tranches tied to Amazon’s commercial agreements, binding purchase orders and purchases of Qualcomm server-chip products and services.
Qualcomm said 3.75 million shares vested when the warrant was issued, based on initial commitments. Further qualifying activity is required for the remaining potential shares; they do not vest all at once.
Custom AI inference chips and AWS workloads anchor collaboration
The companies are focusing their product work on custom chips for AI inference, Reuters reported. Inference refers to the use of trained AI models to generate outputs, a workload that has become a major focus for data-center operators deploying AI services at scale.
Qualcomm will also expand its use of AWS infrastructure and AI services for chip-design workloads, Reuters reported. That creates a reciprocal commercial element: Amazon is positioned both to buy Qualcomm-related products under the warrant milestones and to provide cloud and AI services used by Qualcomm.
