Qualcomm recently approached struggling chipmaker Intel about a takeover, CNBC has confirmed.

It wasn’t clear if Intel had engaged in conversations with Qualcomm or what the terms would be, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information was confidential.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the matter. Intel shares initially popped on the news before closing up about 3%, while Qualcomm shares fell about 3% at the close. 

The deal, if it were to happen, would be one of the largest technology mergers ever. Intel has a market cap of over $90 billion.

Once the world’s largest chipmaker, Intel has for years been in a downward spiral that accelerated in 2024. The stock had its biggest one-day drop in over 50 years in August after the company reported disappointing earnings. Intel shares are down 53% this year as investors express doubts about the company’s costly plans to manufacture and design chips.

Qualcomm and Intel compete in several markets, including for PC and laptop chips. However, Qualcomm, unlike Intel, doesn’t manufacture its own chips, and instead relies on firms such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung to handle production.

On Monday, after a board meeting to discuss strategy, Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger sent a memo to staff that reiterated the company’s commitment to investing heavily in its foundry business, a project that could cost $100 billion over the next five years. It also said that it was weighing outside investment.

Intel has also missed out on the artificial intelligence boom that’s captured the attention of Wall Street. Most of the advanced AI programs, such as ChatGPT, run on Nvidia graphics processors, instead of Intel central processors. Nvidia has more than 80% of the fast-growing market, according to analysts.

Qualcomm generates less revenue than Intel. It reported $35.8 billion in sales in fiscal 2023, compared with Intel’s $54.2 billion during the same period.

A potential deal would be complicated by antitrust and national security matters. Both Intel and Qualcomm do business in China, and both have seen deals scuttled by Chinese antitrust enforcers. Intel was unsuccessful with its attempted acquisition of Tower Semiconductor, as was Qualcomm in its bid to acquire NXP Semiconductor.

Other giant acquisitions in the space have also been scuttled. In 2017, Broadcom made a bid to buy Qualcomm for more than $100 billion. The Trump administration blocked the deal the following year on national security concerns, because Broadcom was based in Singapore at the time. And in 2021, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Nvidia’s attempted purchase of Arm on antitrust grounds. The deal was called off in 2022 following additional pressure from regulators in Europe and Asia.

Representatives for Qualcomm and Intel declined to comment.

Apple on Friday greeted customers at its stores around the world for the debuts of the iPhone 16, Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods 4.

The new products were announced at an event earlier this month and have been available for pre-order since Sept. 13. The company lit up the glass cube at its Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City, in a nod to the enhanced Siri, which will light up the borders of the new iPhone’s screen when that feature rolls out next month.

Apple’s fresh iPhones mark the company’s latest move into artificial intelligence, with new Apple Intelligence features that will begin to launch in October. The new features will allow customers to rewrite text, remove objects from photos and speak with an improved Siri. The software advancements will only be available on iPhone 16 and last year’s iPhone 15 Pro devices.

But Apple shares slid on Monday after analyst reports suggested that demand for the latest iPhones was lower than expected. TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a note on Monday that first-weekend sales were down about 12% year over year from the iPhone 15 last year. Barclays, JPMorgan and Bank of America also noted shipping times could translate to lighter demand for the more expensive iPhone Pro models compared with last year.

CNBC’s Steve Kovach spoke with CEO Tim Cook outside Apple’s Fifth Avenue store and asked whether sales looked better or worse than last year. “I don’t know yet. It’s only the first hour, so we’ll see,” Cook said.

On Friday, UBS analysts suggested investors shouldn’t overreact to what appears to be lighter sales because that data is also collected by analyzing the wait times for new iPhone models and that those were longer last year due in part to supply chain disruptions.

“Ahead of the iPhone 16 announcement, our analysis suggested that a lack of a killer app and arguably somewhat half-baked introduction of Apple Intelligence would dampen demand,” the UBS analysts wrote. “While we still argue the collection of iPhone/iOS attributes are more evolutionary than revolutionary, we caution that investors not overreact to data that suggests somewhat initial tepid demand.”

The UBS analysts said supply chain disruptions last year “slightly distorted/extended last year’s data,” which led to longer wait times for customers for Pro models. Last year, UBS wrote, customers had a 41-day wait time for some iPhone 15 Pro Max pre-orders compared with a 26-day wait time for the iPhone 16 Pro Max this year.

“Nevertheless, data across all models and regions roughly a week post launch support our view that a super-cycle is not imminent as US and China data on the margin is disappointing relative to last year,” they wrote.

The Apple Watch Series 10 offers a larger screen than that of earlier models. It will support, along with the earlier Series 9, new Sleep Apnea detection, as well as other fresh features. The AirPods 4 offer a refresh with a smaller charging case and an option with noise cancellation.

CNBC reviewed the new iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Apple Watch Series 10 earlier in the week.

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom and Steve Kovach contributed to this report.

Indian education technology startup Physics Wallah announced on Friday that it had raised $210 million as it looks to expand its business, in part via acquisitions, amid troubles in the sector.

The funding, led by Hornbill Capital, and involving Lightspeed Venture Partners, GSV and WestBridge, values the company at $2.8 billion, a significant increase from its last valuation of $1.1 billion.

Physics Wallah, founded in 2020, is one of India’s many education technology, or ed-tech firms, that offers free and paid-for courses for various competitive examinations in India. The company aims to differentiate itself by offering courses that on average cost less than $50, in order to be accessible to more kids in poorer parts of the country.

“We are not built for 1% of the country or 1% of the world, we are built for the remaining 99%, those who cannot go to these fancy coaching classes … now we enable different kinds of students,” Alakh Pandey, CEO of Physics Wallah, told CNBC in an interview.

The company runs on a freemium business model, hosting courses for free on YouTube. For those students who want more features such as homework and tests, there is a paid offering.

The company said its revenue grew 250% year-on-year in the fiscal year ended March 2024 and Pandey said he expects the “highest absolute” EBITDA in the current fiscal year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or EBITDA, is one measure of profitability used by companies.

Pandey said the company is open to acquisitions provided it gives them access to new content and users.

“Consolidation, we are open to it if it’s based on different geography that we cannot serve to, and if it caters to content and community first,” Pandey said.

The CEO pointed to the equity investments it has already made. Last year, Physics Wallah brought a 50% stake in Xylem Learning, an ed-tech company headquartered in Kerala in south India.

But that expansion also led to some high-profile collapses in the sector, including ed-tech firm Byju — once valued at $22 billion — which has all but collapsed and is facing multiple insolvency proceedings in India. Its fall has been attributed to factors including aggressive acquisitions, high spend on marketing and mismanagement.

Discussing some of the failures in the ed-tech sector in India, Pandey said his company is focused on the content it offers and the outcomes for students.

“If you see interviews or even read the headlines of previous actors that you’re talking about, all they talk about is the crazy valuation they have, the funds they have raised how much money they have made,” Pandey told CNBC.

“Education is different thing. It’s not like any other startup that you can grow and talk about crazy valuation … at heart you have to accept that you are actually working to change the life of students.”

Maheshwari, who also spoke to CNBC, said that despite the failures, the market is still growing.

“I don’t believe the market has shrunk. A couple of players have struggled to perform post-Covid … but the learners are increasing year-on-year,” Maheshwari said.

Speaking about Physics Wallah’s future, Pandey said an initial public offering will happen, but wouldn’t be drawn on a timeline.

“An IPO is something that we will do. We want to have a strong governance in the company, we are working on that, forming a board of independent directors … it’s not that important for us when the IPO will happen, we are running the company like a public company,” Pandey said.