Beyond smartphones, Gen AI set to transform automobiles, camera and more, says Savi Soin of Qualcomm India

US-based Qualcomm, renowned for its chips powering premier and high-tier smartphones worldwide, is strategically shifting its focus towards embedding AI capabilities into its chipsets. In a significant move last year, the company unveiled its inaugural mobile chip, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, featuring on-device generative AI, which now empowers the top-of-the-line Android smartphones of 2024. Continuing this trajectory, Qualcomm is extending the integration of on-device AI models to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform chipset.

Savi Soin, senior vice president and president of Qualcomm India, told Business Today, “We're bringing AI features down the right path with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, and you will see us bringing these features across the tier. Next year, you will see us having the same 10 billion parameters to be running on maybe the Snapdragon 6 or 4 series. At the end of the day, it's all about what we can do. What we are chasing is bringing those innovative use cases here. We are going to get very, very aggressive.”

Speaking on why Qualcomm is betting big on integrating capabilities of on-device AI processing, Soin explains, “We're going to be really good at it. Let's say when you're typing a message, those tokens are actually going to the cloud, and the cloud is giving you perhaps what you are trying to say in your message or a co-pilot. What we are able to do is - do this on-device and actually save a tremendous amount of power. You will be able to preserve your battery. You don't want AI on your phone where every one hour the phone’s battery is dead. Qualcomm is really good at computing and doing computing and low power. That's where we are number one. And we plan to do the right things in India to be able to be a leader here.”

This strategic shift signifies Qualcomm’s growing focus on artificial intelligence in enhancing user experiences, optimizing performance, and unlocking new functionalities. But this isn’t just restricted to mobile devices but other smart devices. While Qualcomm is known for its chips for smartphones, it is increasingly expanding its presence in automobiles, wearables, hearables, and more.

“The AI revolution is here. AI in networks, it's (already) happening. Auto companies are inquiring about the Gen AI use cases that we are bringing on board. Some of the stuff that we are doing with OEMs overseas, Indian players are saying they want to leapfrog. You are going to see this in two-wheelers, edge AI boxes, cameras, and more. Gen AI is going to come everywhere,” he adds.

Qualcomm has been in India for the last 20 years, and a lot of important tech development and innovation happens in the country. For all Qualcomm chips, either some part or end-to-end, is done here in India. Soin believes the investment Qualcomm has made in India is very important, and the company will continue to increase the investment every year.

While Soin did not share the number of engineers the company has employed in the country, he did mention Qualcomm India has more engineers compared to the company’s headquarters in San Diego. In India, Qualcomm has operations spread across various locations including Bengaluru, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Noida, Chennai, along with business offices in Mumbai and Gurgaon.