Qualcomm reportedly began exploring a return to the server silicon market around four years after abandoning the sector, seeking to capitalise on capabilities developed by Nuvia, a start-up it acquired in 2021.

Bloomberg reported Qualcomm had already drawn interest from Amazon Web Services (AWS) for any server chip move, noting the strategy would also diversify the company’s portfolio beyond smartphones.

The news agency cited figures released by IDC earlier this year showing spending for cloud computing infrastructure by companies including AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud hit $73.9 billion in 2021, up 8.8 per cent year-on-year.

Bloomberg noted Nuvia had initially focused on developing silicon for data centres. When it closed the deal, Qualcomm pitched integration of next-generation CPUs across a wide range of products including infrastructure as potential markets.

The news agency noted any return to the server market would pose challenges for Qualcomm, not least of which is fresh competition from Amazon and various start-ups.