Qualcomm’s Intel takeover bid is on ice, at least for now. According to sources, the mobile chip maker is reportedly holding off on approaching Intel with a purchase offer due to the uncertainty caused by the US presidential election in a few weeks time, seeking “clarity” over who is going to take over in the Oval Office before it makes a bid or not.
Intel hasn’t had the best year so far. Its current-gen Intel Raptor Lake CPUs have faced voltage instability issues that caused permanent damage, its share price has dropped over 50% since January, and in the battle to make the best gaming CPUs, it continues to lag behind AMD. Qualcomm, meanwhile, has seen its latest Snapdragon X Plus CPUs chip away at Intel and AMD’s hold over the market in the latest Windows Copilot+ laptops.
This new update follows Intel takeover rumors that surfaced a few weeks ago. While Qualcomm hasn’t officially confirmed its plans, one way or another, Bloomberg reports from sources “familiar with the matter” that plans to buy Intel are paused until after the election, especially given the huge change in the political landscape that could occur should Donald Trump return to the White House in January.
For starters, it’s likely that a potential new Trump administration would take a firmer line on American trade with China. China is a key market for both chip makers, and while Qualcomm and Intel are both American companies, the double impact of a new administration and a worsening relationship with China could make or break the deal. There’s also no guarantee that either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris would support the move, and a takeover bid for Qualcomm itself by Broadcom, another American chip maker, was blocked by Donald Trump in 2018.
It’s important not to understate just how big of a deal this would be for modern computing. Buying Intel wouldn’t just give Qualcomm control of Intel’s manufacturing power and expertise, but also control over its intellectual property. That includes the control over the x86 instruction set, the basis for modern desktop and laptop CPUs for decades.
There are also questions to be asked over whether or not a takeover would impact AMD’s x86 license with Intel. Combining Qualcomm’s already extensive experience with Arm chips with control over x86 architecture would make it the most dominant chipmaker in the world.
Should it go ahead with the bid, Qualcomm is also likely to face scrutiny from lawmakers and trade bodies from around the world. A similarly large-scale effort by Nvidia to buy Arm was blocked by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority back in 2020, with the CMA believing that the takeover would “harm the competitiveness of Nvidia’s rivals by restricting access to Arm’s intellectual property.”
Similar arguments are surely likely to take place for any potential Qualcomm and Intel tie-up, and not just from lawmakers. Other competitors are likely to have a vested interest in opposing the deal, including Nvidia, with Nvidia CPU rumors suggesting that the company is preparing to launch its own set of Arm-based CPUs to challenge Qualcomm.
For now, though, the Intel and AMD duopoly over CPUs continues, and it’s clear that the two companies are taking the threat from upstarts like Qualcomm seriously. A new x86 working group has just been formed to help forge a new future for desktop and laptop CPUs, but should Qualcomm buy Intel, this new working relationship could sour pretty quickly.
Whatever happens, Intel is powering on, with a brand new lineup of processors launching in just one week’s time. If you’re thinking about a new build, you might want to look at our Intel Arrow Lake guide to learn whether or not these new CPUs are going to be worth the upgrade. Otherwise, you can always pick up an Intel Core i9 14900K, the most powerful Intel CPU you can currently buy.
