Cristiano Amon

CEO of Qualcomm, leading its expansion from mobile technology into intelligent computing.

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

Qualcomm must pivot its identity from a licensing-focused entity to a semiconductor-first company to achieve a market valuation that reflects its growth potential.

The future of computing is not device-centric but 'agent-centric,' where on-device AI agents will handle a large percentage of user interactions, making powerful and efficient processors essential.

The long-term, transformative impact of AI is currently underestimated and underhyped, with significant changes expected across all industries within the next 12 to 24 months.

Diversification into automotive, PC, and IoT is non-negotiable for Qualcomm's future, as the smartphone market is mature with limited growth potential.

6G will be more than just faster connectivity; it will be an intelligent network that uses AI to process radio signals as sensors, enabling a 'digital twin of the world at scale.'

Podcast consensus on Amon

Points of consensus

▶Cristiano Amon is actively leading Qualcomm through a strategic diversification to expand beyond the mature mobile market into high-growth sectors like automotive, PC, industrial robotics, and data centers.Apr 2026

▶Amon holds a strong conviction that Artificial Intelligence represents the next fundamental shift in computing, predicting it will change every existing computer and that a major transformation across industries is imminent.

▶A core part of Amon's mission as CEO is to fundamentally shift Qualcomm's corporate identity and market perception from a licensing company with a chip business to a semiconductor company with a licensing business.Apr 2026

▶He is focused on establishing Qualcomm's leadership in the next generation of wireless technology, building a coalition of 60 companies around a shared vision for 6G.Apr 2026

Points of debate

▶There is a strategic tension between managing Qualcomm's large but mature, single-digit growth smartphone business and allocating resources to aggressively pursue high-growth but still-scaling diversification markets like automotive.Apr 2026

▶Amon's highly speculative, long-term predictions about an 'agent-centric' future and 6G enabling a 'digital twin of the world' contrast with the market's more immediate perception of Qualcomm as an Apple supplier, which he believes negatively impacts its valuation.Apr 2026

▶Amon's assertion that the long-term impact of AI is 'underhyped' contrasts with the significant market excitement and investment already directed at the sector, suggesting he believes the current focus is still too narrow.Apr 2026

▶He presents Qualcomm's automotive business as a major success with 30% year-over-year growth, yet the company's overall revenue is still projected to be approximately 50% from the mobile business as other segments scale, highlighting the ongoing dependency.Apr 2026

Key themes

▶Diversification Beyond the SmartphoneApr 2026

Amon is spearheading a deliberate strategy to reduce Qualcomm's dependence on the mature smartphone market. This involves aggressively expanding into new, high-growth sectors including automotive, PCs, industrial robotics, and data centers, with the automotive business already showing 30% year-over-year growth.

This diversification strategy is a critical de-risking maneuver, aiming to create multiple, independent growth engines that can offset the low single-digit growth of the mobile sector and insulate the company from the volatility of relationships with single large customers.

▶The Agent-Centric AI RevolutionApr 2026

Amon predicts a fundamental paradigm shift from smartphone-centric computing to an 'agent-centric' model, where a device's value is defined by its AI agent's capabilities. He believes this transformation is imminent, with 2026 being the 'year of agents' and AI fundamentally changing every computer within the next 12 to 24 months.

By championing on-device AI and an agent-centric future, Amon is positioning Qualcomm's core competency in power-efficient, high-performance processors as indispensable, creating a potential moat against competitors focused solely on cloud-based AI.

▶Re-engineering Qualcomm's Corporate IdentityApr 2026

A primary mission for Amon is to reframe Qualcomm's identity in the eyes of the market. He is working to transition the company from being perceived as 'a licensing company with a chip business' to 'a semiconductor company with a licensing business,' believing the former perception (and its association as an Apple supplier) unfairly suppresses its stock valuation.

This narrative shift is as much a financial strategy as it is an operational one; a successful rebranding could unlock a higher valuation multiple for Qualcomm's stock, aligning it more closely with other high-growth semiconductor companies rather than a mature IP licensor.

▶Architecting the 6G FutureApr 2026

Amon has a specific vision for 6G, predicting it will function as a 'physical AI' network capable of creating a 'digital twin of the world at scale' by treating radio signals as radar. He foresees 6G providing massive uplink capabilities to support future devices like smart glasses and is building a coalition of 60 companies to align with this vision.

By defining a bold, technically specific vision for 6G well before its 2029 projected deployment, Amon is attempting to set the standard and ensure Qualcomm's technology and patents are foundational to the next wave of connectivity, thereby securing future licensing and silicon revenue streams.

Source episodes

Timeline

1995

Joined Qualcomm as an engineer, prior to the company's first CDMA system going live.

2018

Appointed President of Qualcomm by then-CEO Steve Mollenkoff, with the explicit intent of preparing him for succession.

2021-06-30

Became CEO of Qualcomm, tasked with completing the company's transition to a semiconductor-first entity and pursuing diversification.

Present

Actively promotes the vision of an imminent AI-driven transformation and an 'agent-centric' computing future, while overseeing Qualcomm's expansion into automotive and PC markets.

2026 (Predicted)

Predicts this will be the 'year of agents,' when AI agents become popular and demonstrate significant usability.

2028-2029 (Predicted)

Forecasts that Qualcomm will have 6G silicon available in 2028, with the first commercial 6G systems deploying in 2029.

Suggested prompts

How does Cristiano Amon's 'agent-centric' computing vision challenge the current dominance of cloud-based AI models, and what are the implications for Qualcomm's hardware business? &nearr;What are the primary execution risks associated with Qualcomm's diversification strategy into competitive markets like automotive and PCs, and how might they impact the goal of having non-mobile revenue exceed 50%? &nearr;Analyze the feasibility of Amon's vision for 6G as a 'physical AI' network. What technological and regulatory hurdles must be overcome for this to become a reality by 2029? &nearr;To what extent has Amon's effort to rebrand Qualcomm as a 'semiconductor company' successfully altered its stock valuation relative to its peers, independent of its performance as an Apple supplier? &nearr;

Key concepts

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 2 ep 6G Technology 1 ep Corporate Strategy & Diversification 1 ep Automotive Business 1 ep Company Identity & Perception 1 ep Smartphone Market 1 ep AI Agents 1 ep Semiconductors 1 ep Licensing Business 1 ep

Notable quotes

“[0:22:09 -> 0:22:20] Qualcomm used to be a licensing company that had a semiconductor business on the side. Qualcomm today is a semiconductor business that happens to be a licensing business on the side.”

Cristiano Amon · Beyond the Smartphone: Cristiano Amon on Qualcomm’s AI Revolution and the Global Bridge

“This is going to change every single computer that we have.”

Cristiano Amon · FULL DISCUSSION: Goldman, JPMorgan, BlackRock CEOs Join Saudi Arabia’s Mega Investment Summit | AQ1B

“[0:38:32 -> 0:38:40] we're moving now from a smartphone center to an agent center so when you think about the definition of something as simple as a wearable before or today it's just a device that it provide an extension of the functionality of your phone”

Cristiano Amon · Beyond the Smartphone: Cristiano Amon on Qualcomm’s AI Revolution and the Global Bridge

“[0:50:21 -> 0:50:27] i believe you're going to start in 2026 it's going to be the year of agents agents going to become more popular when agents become more popular you started to see the real usability of ai”

Cristiano Amon · Beyond the Smartphone: Cristiano Amon on Qualcomm’s AI Revolution and the Global Bridge

Report last updated: Apr 28, 2026

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