Qualcomm said Wednesday it will pay $1.4 billion to buy Nuvia, a chip startup founded by former Apple employees.
Why it matters: The move gives Qualcomm fresh ideas for chip designs as the company faces intense competition from Intel, AMD and others.
Between the lines: Nuvia has a custom core based on ARM, which is in the process of being sold to Nvidia, a Qualcomm rival. Buying Nuvia gives Qualcomm more flexibility to move away from ARM, should it eventually do so for business or technical reasons.
In its press release, Qualcomm included quotes from a who's who of the phone and computer business announcing their support for the deal, indicating it hopes to use the technology in a wide range of chips.
Details: Qualcomm said founders Gerard Williams III, Manu Gulati and John Bruno will join Qualcomm along with the rest of the company's staff.
Yes, but: Williams, who is Nuvia's CEO, is in the midst of a legal battle with Apple. Apple sued Williams in December 2019, claiming that he breached his contract with Apple.