A concept car shows off Qualcomm's auto technology. The car was on display at the Qualcomm booth at the IAA Mobility show in Munich on September 9, 2025.
Qualcomm's self-driving technology developed alongside BMW is expected to spark significant interest from other automakers keen to licence the system, the CEO of the U.S. chip giant told CNBC.
The comments underscore how Qualcomm, a major player in smartphone chips, is diversifying its business into new areas, with automotive among its fastest-growing divisions.
Last week, Qualcomm and German auto giant BMW announced an automated driving system that is built on the former's semiconductors.
It's called the Snapdragon Ride Pilot Automated Driving System and is a type of driver-assist feature. It allows hands-free driving on certain roads or even lane changing, but not for the car to be fully driverless.
The system will debut on the new BMW iX3 and the companies say it will be available across 100 countries by 2026.
But while the system has been developed with BMW, Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, told CNBC in an interview Tuesday that the technology has been designed to licence to other automakers.