Qualcomm in Talks to Buy Jim Keller's RISC-V AI Chip Maker Tenstorrent for $8 Billion to $10 Billion
Reports say Qualcomm is examining a full acquisition of Tenstorrent, the RISC-V AI accelerator startup led by Jim Keller, at a valuation between $8 billion and $10 billion.
Overview
Qualcomm is in talks to acquire Tenstorrent, the AI accelerator startup led by veteran chip architect Jim Keller, in a deal that would value the company between $8 billion and $10 billion, according to Yahoo Finance, which carried a Reuters report. The valuation range was first reported by The Information and picked up by Reuters on June 15, 2026, according to igor’sLAB. If completed, the deal would deepen Qualcomm’s push beyond its smartphone roots and into the data-center AI market.
What We Know
The talks center on a complete acquisition of Tenstorrent, a company founded in 2016 and led by Jim Keller, a former Apple chip designer who also oversaw Tesla’s efforts to develop a chip for autonomous driving, according to Yahoo Finance. Keller’s earlier work spans “DEC Alpha, AMD K7 and K8, the Zen family, Apple’s A4 and A5, and Tesla’s first in-house chip for automated driving,” and he was also Senior Vice President of the Silicon Engineering Group at Intel, according to igor’sLAB.
Tenstorrent builds scalable AI accelerators for both the cloud and edge, according to Data Center Dynamics. The company develops complete computer systems for AI that combine Tensix compute cores, AI accelerators, RISC-V processor IP, systems, and compiler technologies, according to igor’sLAB. Its chips are based on RISC-V, an open-source CPU design approach, and the company emphasizes that they can handle certain AI workloads more efficiently than Nvidia GPUs, according to Digital Today.
The discussions are ongoing, and the deal value could change, with the possibility that negotiations could still fall through, according to Yahoo Finance. Both companies declined to comment, with Tenstorrent declining to comment and Qualcomm saying it does not comment on rumors, according to Data Center Dynamics.
The Valuation Backdrop
A deal at $8 billion to $10 billion would mark a steep markup from Tenstorrent’s recent funding. The company closed a financing round at the end of 2024 for more than $693 million at a valuation of $2 billion before the new financing, according to igor’sLAB. In 2025, it was in talks to raise $800 million at a $3.2 billion valuation, according to Data Center Dynamics.
Tenstorrent has raised more than $1 billion from Fidelity, AFW Partners and Eclipse Ventures, among others, with Hyundai and Kia also investors and partners, according to Digital Today. Its December 2024 round drew investors including Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Expeditions, Samsung Securities and AFW Partner, according to Data Center Dynamics.
Qualcomm’s Diversification Push
Qualcomm derives a large share of its revenue from smartphone and PC chips and is looking for ways to expand its stake in the AI chip market, according to Digital Today. Last year the company acquired Alphawave Semi for $2.4 billion, according to Digital Today. Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon has framed the data-center market as “a new growth opportunity for Qualcomm and is a logical extension of our diversification strategy,” a comment he made during Qualcomm’s fiscal Q3 2025 earnings, according to Data Center Dynamics.
The reported Tenstorrent talks follow Qualcomm’s separately announced agreement on June 24 to acquire AI software startup Modular in an all-stock deal worth about $3.9 billion, as previously reported. Together, the moves point to a strategy that pairs hardware and software aimed at the AI infrastructure stack dominated by Nvidia.
What We Don’t Know
Neither side has confirmed the talks, and Reuters was unable to independently verify the report, according to Yahoo Finance. It also remains unclear whether the proposed price includes performance-based milestone payments, a structure that has been used in previous acquisitions of chip startups, according to Yahoo Finance. No closing timeline or regulatory pathway for a potential Tenstorrent deal has been disclosed.