Qualcomm banks on AI to get a bigger share of the automotive chip market

Published

2 years ago

August 31, 2023

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Qualcomm is best known for the chips and modems inside Android phones. But in recent years, it’s also started selling a package of hardware chips, sensors and software called Snapdragon Digital Chassis to automakers like GM, Hyundai and Volvo.

Now, it’s hoping to capitalize on the hype around generative artificial intelligence to convince automakers to buy more of these chips and build new scenarios around them, such as smart assistants that would help drivers navigate around cities, make reservations and do other daily computing tasks.

Automotive revenue is still a small business for Qualcomm. It reported $1.32 billion in sales in its fiscal 2022, or about 3% of the company’s overall sales. But the company says that it can expect that its chips will be used in forthcoming cars over the next few years, and projects more than $9 billion in sales in 2031.

Qualcomm makes between $200 and $3,000 per car that use its chips and software, officials said last fall at an investor event. The company also makes $5 per car that’s connected to 5G through licensing fees.

One example of the company’s presence in cars: GM’s new electric $130,000 Cadillac Escalade IQ SUV uses Qualcomm chips and software to help power the vehicle’s 55-inch dashboard display, as well as lane-keeping and hands-free driving features under GM’s “Ultra Cruise” branding. The SUV also notably does not allow users to mirror their phones to the entertainment system, a feature known as Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, meaning drivers will interact with GM’s chosen software interface, increasing the importance of the in-car computer experience.

Qualcomm faces stiff competition from other chipmakers in the car chip business. Computer-focused chip companies like Intel through its Mobileye subsidiary and Nvidia sell automotive products, in addition to traditional auto suppliers such as Continental, NXP Semiconductors and Bosch, which are all vying to supply parts and chips that power dashboards and driver assistance systems.

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ

This week, Qualcomm demonstrated potential future scenarios that its chips could enable with the assistance of large language models and generative AI.

In one example, Qualcomm showed how a car assistant could find a recipe for chicken enchiladas and add the ingredients to a shopping list. In another, the car computer uses Stable Diffusion, a type of generative AI model, to create and send an AI-generated birthday card to the driver’s brother. The demos were all running on the car’s computer, not a phone. The assistant feature is a preview of how cars could become more like personal computers in the coming years. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon sees cars as a “new computing platform,” he wrote in a blog post this week.

Qualcomm’s demonstration highlights the company’s desire to be seen as an AI company, through its low-power smartphone GPUs and AI accelerators. Investors have so far focused on Nvidia’s cloud GPUs, which are used to power applications like ChatGPT. While the AI boom has tripled rival Nvidia’s stock so far this year, Qualcomm is only up 5% during the same period.

A short-term goal for Qualcomm’s language models is to create a smart user guide using a large language model that’s been trained and fine-tuned on the dense user manuals that come with cars, said Nakul Duggal, automotive senior vice president at Qualcomm. Another frontier is driver monitoring, or using machine learning to determine if the driver is distracted or sleeping.

“We’re working with automakers who are actively going from a flat manual that you have in your glove compartment, to really adding context where the car is going to be able to understand what is going on,” Duggal said.

Another frontier for Qualcomm’s platform could be features that can upgrade the car’s software on the go with new self-driving capabilities, Duggal said — which could even be a new revenue stream for automakers.

“Where are you driving? Do you have trouble parking? Would you like to subscribe to that automated parking feature that we have that you haven’t actually purchased, but we can upgrade over-the-air? Or would you like a free trial for a period of time?” Duggal said. “There are so many different things that you can do once you have context.”

Technology

South Korea says DeepSeek transferred user data to China and the U.S. without consent

Published

5 hours ago

April 24, 2025

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South Korea says DeepSeek transferred user data to China and the U.S. without consent

Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images

South Korea’s data protection authority has concluded that Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek collected personal information from local users and transferred it overseas without their permission.

The authority, the Personal Information Protection Commission, released its written findings on Thursday in connection with a privacy and security review of DeepSeek.

It follows DeepSeek’s removal of its chatbot application from South Korean app stores in February at the recommendation of PICP. The agency said DeepSeek had committed to cooperate on its concerns.

During DeepSeek’s presence in South Korea, it transferred user data to several firms in China and the U.S. without obtaining the necessary consent from users or disclosing the practice, the PIPC said.

The agency highlighted a particular case in which DeepSeek transferred information from user-written AI prompts, as well as device, network, and app information, to a Chinese cloud service platform named Beijing Volcano Engine Technology Co.

While the PIPC identified Beijing Volcano Engine Technology Co. as “an affiliate” of TikTok-owner ByteDance, the information privacy watchdog noted in a statement that the cloud platform “is a separate legal entity and has no relation to ByteDance,” according to a Google translation.

According to PIPC, DeepSeek said it used Beijing Volcano Engine Technology’s services to improve the security and user experience of its app, but later blocked the transfer of AI prompt information from April 10.

DeepSeek and ByteDance did not immediately respond to inquiries from CNBC.

The Hangzhou-based AI startup took the world by storm in January when it unveiled its R1 reasoning model, rivaling the performance of Western competitors despite the company’s claims that it was trained for relatively low costs and with less advanced hardware.

However, the app’s rising popularity quickly triggered national security and data concerns outside China due to Beijing’s requirement for domestic firms to share data with the PRC. Cybersecurity experts have also flagged data vulnerabilities in the app and voiced concerns about the company’s privacy policy.

PIPC on Thursday said it had issued a corrective recommendation to DeepSeek, which includes requests to immediately destroy AI prompt information transferred to the Chinese company in question and to set up legal protocols for transferring personal information overseas.

When the data protection authority announced the removal of DeepSeek from local app stores, it signaled that the app would become available again once the company implemented the necessary updates to comply with local data protection policy.

That investigation followed reports that some South Korean government agencies had banned employees from using DeepSeek on work devices. Other global government departments, including in Taiwan, Australia, and the U.S., have reportedly instituted similar bans.

Technology

Adobe to launch mobile app for AI image generation tool as OpenAI steps up rivalry

Published

6 hours ago

April 24, 2025

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Adobe’s new artificial intelligence image models, Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, can generate hyper-realistic pictures in response to user prompts.

Adobe

LONDON — Adobe plans to launch a mobile version of its artificial intelligence image generation tool Firefly, stepping up a challenge to OpenAI as the Microsoft-backed startup advances its efforts on visual applications for the technology.

The design software giant said Thursday at its MAX creativity conference in London that it will release Firefly on both iOS and Android “soon,” without giving a specific date.

“Creative people think on the go,” Alexandru Costin, vice president of Adobe Firefly, told CNBC in an interview. “One of the visions we have is for the Firefly mobile application to become a creative partner that sits with you all the time.”

Costin said that one way creatives could use its upcoming mobile app was to ask it to sketch up some ideas about an ad campaign while commuting to the office, so that by the time they arrive at work they’ve got a mood board to help them develop their thinking.

Adobe also announced the launch of its latest AI models, Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, and said its new Firefly Video Model for video generation is now generally available.

The company said the new systems are capable of generating hyper-realistic pictures and videos in response to textual prompts in a “commercially safe” way, blocking the inclusion of any intellectual property.

Competition from OpenAI

It marks Adobe’s latest push to incorporate AI into its creative tool suite and comes as the company is increasingly facing competition from well-funded AI firms such as OpenAI and Runway.

Last month, OpenAI released a native image generation feature that went viral online for its ability to produce anime images in the style of animation studio Studio Ghibli and recreate people as toy dolls.

The tool saw such huge levels of demand that OpenAI boss Sam Altman warned it was melting the company’s GPUs (graphics processing units). “It’s super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT. But our GPUs are melting,” Altman said on March 27.

While Adobe’s Costin conceded that the competitive environment is heating up, he said the company isn’t shying away from partnering with the competition. For example, Adobe has partnered up with the likes of OpenAI, Google and Runway to add their AI image generation tools to Firefly.

“Competition is great,” Costin told CNBC. “We think there will be models with different personalities and capabilities.”

Technology

British fintech Revolut tops $1 billion in profit as revenue jumps 72%

Published

9 hours ago

April 24, 2025

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British fintech Revolut tops billion in profit as revenue jumps 72%

Revolut CEO Nikolay Storonsky at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, Nov. 7, 2019.

Pedro Nunes | Reuters

LONDON — British fintech firm Revolut on Thursday announced it topped $1 billion in annual profit for the first time, a major milestone for the company as it readies the launch of its U.K. bank later this year.

Revolut, which offers a range of banking and financial services via an app, said that net profit for the year ending Dec. 31, 2024, totaled £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion), up 149% year over year. Revenues at the company increased 72% year on year to £3.1 billion, driven by growth across different revenue streams.

Revolut’s wealth unit — which includes its stock-trading business — saw outsized growth, with revenue surging 298% to £506 million, while subscriptions turnover jumped 74% to £423 million.

Revolut also saw significant growth in its loan book, which grew 86% to £979 million. Coupled with a jump in customer deposits, this contributed to a 58% increase in interest income, which totaled £790 million.

UK bank rollout

Revolut’s financial milestone arrives at a critical time for the almost decade-old-firm. The digital banking unicorn has been preparing a transition to becoming a fully operational bank in the U.K. after securing a banking license last summer.

It was granted a banking license with restrictions in July 2024 from the U.K.’s Prudential Regulation Authority, bringing an end to a lengthy application process that began back in 2021.

The restricted license means that Revolut is now in the “mobilization” stage, where it is focusing on building out its banking operations and infrastructure in the run-up to a full launch. The period typically lasts about 12 months.

Revolut is still awaiting approval from regulators to transfer all 11 million of its U.K. users to a new banking entity this summer. Once fully up and running, the firm will be able to begin offering loans, overdrafts and mortgages, opening up the path to new income streams.

‘Customers trust banks’

Victor Stinga, Revolut’s chief financial officer, told CNBC on Thursday that the company’s aim is to formally launch its U.K. bank later this year.

“As you can imagine, at this scale, it’s a thorough process, and we just pay a lot of attention to it,” Stinga said. “We work very closely on a close contact with the PRA [Prudential Regulation Authority] and the FCA [Financial Conduct Authority] on it. We feel like we’re making great progress on it.”

Stinga said that a big advantage of becoming a bank in the U.K. is ability to start accepting deposits protected by government guarantees. Licensed banks are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which means their customers can claim up to £85,000 if a lender goes out of business.

“Customers trust banks, so it means customers on this transition will use Revolut as a primary bank account,” Stinga said.

Lending is arguably “the biggest roadmap item that this unlocks,” Revolut’s CFO said, adding that the firm is looking at launching credit cards and personal loans, similar to the products it already offers in the European Union under a separate EU banking license.

Francesca Carlesi, Revolut’s U.K. boss, previously told the Wall Street Journal that Revolut views its journey to becoming a U.K. bank as a crucial step in its global expansion and eventual IPO. “My main strategic focus is making Revolut the primary bank for everybody in the U.K.,” she told the WSJ.

It has a steep hill to climb — rivals Monzo and Starling have had a lengthy head start on Revolut. Monzo obtained its full banking license in 2017, while Starling was granted its own permit in 2016.