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After teasing it on social media, Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) officially unveiled its new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Mobile Platform on Sunday, which the San Diego-based semiconductor company hopes will help usher in an era of generative artificial intelligence on smartphones.
The new platform, which is available on Android (GOOG) (GOOGL) smartphones, will enhance photography and gaming experiences, as well as offer “next-level” generative AI features, the company said in a statement.
Perhaps most importantly, it will be able to handle the computational needs of large language models, including Baichuan-7B, Meta Platforms’ (META) Llama 2 and Google’s Gemini Nano. Qualcomm said up to 10B parameters can be supported on devices, a task that is usually reserved for large data centers and handled by processors made by Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD) and others.
“With capabilities including on-device generative AI and advanced photography features, Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is designed to enhance user experiences, fostering creativity and productivity in their daily lives.” said Qualcomm senior vice president and general manager of mobile handsets Chris Patrick in a statement.
Smartphone makers that will use the new platform include companies such as Honor, realme, iQOO, Redmi and Xiaomi. Exact devices will be announced in the “coming months,” Qualcomm said.
The announcement of the new Snapdragon platform comes nearly two weeks after Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon talked up the potential for generative AI.
“We believe the impact will be significant as Gen AI applications become indispensable companions and business enablers,” Amon said in prepared remarks at the company’s shareholder meeting earlier this month.
The announcement comes as Qualcomm attempts to reinvigorate its topline growth. In its most recent quarter, ending Dec. 24, Qualcomm earned $2.75 per share on $9.92B in revenue as QCT revenue rose 7% year-over-year to $8.4B. Meanwhile, revenue from handsets rose 16% year-over-year to $6.69B.
Looking to the second-quarter, Qualcomm said in January it expects to earn between $2.20 and $2.40 per share during the quarter, with revenue forecast between $8.9B and $9.7B, compared to estimates of $2.25 and $9.28B, respectively.
