Qualcomm chief meets Korean tech leaders on AI.

Cristiano Amon, chief executive of Qualcomm, visited South Korea on April 21 and met with senior executives from Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and LG Electronics. The meetings are viewed as part of a broader push to build an artificial intelligence partnership spanning chip manufacturing, high-performance memory and next-generation devices and mobility.

According to industry sources, Amon met Han Jin-man, head of Samsung Electronics’ foundry business, to discuss producing Qualcomm’s next-generation application processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, on Samsung’s 2-nanometer process. The discussions follow remarks Amon made at CES 2026 in January, when he said Qualcomm had begun talks with Samsung on advanced-node foundry collaboration.

Amon also held separate talks with SK hynix executives on securing supplies of high-performance memory. Qualcomm is widening its business beyond smartphones into on-device AI, automotive semiconductors and data center accelerators, including its AI200 platform.

Later in the day, Amon met privately with LG Electronics executives, including Ryu Jae-cheol. The talks are understood to have explored potential synergies between LG’s expansion into mobility and Qualcomm’s portfolio, which includes the Dragonwing IQ10 processor for advanced robotics.

An industry official said Qualcomm is moving to deepen ties with leading South Korean companies as it seeks an edge in the global AI race, with partnerships playing a central role in shaping the ecosystem.


이동훈 dhlee@donga.com