Qualcomm and Samsung have announced an extended multi-year partnership which builds on the already existing relationship agreement that the two companies have had in place for years. Qualcomm notes that the new extended agreement will cover various avenues of technology, such as mobile devices, and will likely include the two companies working together on new innovations in the field of 5G among other industries.
Qualcomm doesn’t state explicitly how long the partnership has been expanded beyond mentioning that it will be for multiple years, which could mean anything from a few to five or six. Qualcomm also forgoes delving into specifics about what types of products will come of this partnership. That said, Qualcomm and Samsung’s already existing partnership saw Samsung manufacturing the Snapdragon 835 chipset, so there is a possibility that an extended partnership between the two companies could include a similar manufacturing process for future chipsets from Qualcomm, though it was not explicitly stated as much. Qualcomm highlights the “transition to” 5G and makes note of the fact that it is a global leader in the forward innovation of 5G technology advancements, so this further suggests that the new multi-year agreement will probably revolve partly around Qualcomm and Samsung working together on 5G technology in some capacity in addition to mobile and other types of technology.
This extended partnership is certainly a good thing for Qualcomm and for Samsung, but it also comes at a time when Qualcomm is going through more than a few difficulties. Recently Qualcomm was slapped with a $1.23 billion antitrust fine from the EU though the company plans to appeal it. It’s also reportedly trying to stave off a hostile takeover from rival company Broadcom, which is expected to increase its bid to acquire the semiconductor company. Though it’s much too early to tell how much Qualcomm will end up profiting from this new agreement, it’s sure to help with the $25 billion in assumed debt that the company has, which was part of the $130 billion offer made by Broadcom. This new agreement also comes at a time when Samsung has now reportedly been hailed as the world’s largest chip manufacturer, thanks to its huge increase over the fourth quarter of last year for chip sales.