Qualcomm CEO says AI agents will replace apps as chip giant develops 40 new AI-powered devices

Qualcomm Bets Big on AI Agents as the Future of Digital Interaction

Qualcomm is working on over 40 designs of new AI-powered devices, CEO Cristiano Amon revealed in an interview on CNBC's "The Tech Download" podcast, as the chip designer prepares for a fundamental shift in how consumers interact with technology1

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. The announcement signals a major strategic pivot for the semiconductor giant, which is betting that AI agents will replace apps as the primary interface between users and their devices. According to Amon, these AI agents will become "the new app" as consumers' relationship with their devices undergoes a dramatic transformation2

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40 New AI-Powered Devices Span Diverse Form Factors

The Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon described a wide range of wearable devices currently in development, emphasizing that "the types of form factors are very, very broad"1

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. These AI-powered devices include smart jewelry, earbuds with cameras, pins, and watches designed to act as personal AI agents that understand user intent and perform tasks autonomously. The principle behind these wearable devices is simple yet transformative: they are meant to be worn constantly, capable of seeing the world around users to provide context, and enable seamless access to AI agents through voice interaction1

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How AI Agents Will Replace Apps in a Post-App Future

Amon shared a concrete example of how this post-app future might function: an AI agent that instantly retrieves banking transaction details without requiring users to navigate through an app manually1

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. While apps are "not dead," Amon emphasized, "apps are going to change" as AI agents increasingly handle complex tasks across various services1

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. These agents represent the next evolution beyond digital assistants like Apple's Siri or Google Gemini, with the tech industry betting they will carry out longer, more sophisticated tasks such as booking holidays across multiple platforms. The shift means that "the phone is around the agent" rather than the other way around, fundamentally changing the center of gravity in digital interaction1

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Smart Glasses Poised to Rival Smartphone Scale

Cristiano Amon expressed particular optimism about smart glasses, predicting they could become as significant as smartphones in terms of market scale1

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. Smart glasses shipments currently stand in the "order of multiple tens of millions" per year, but Amon projects this could reach "hundreds of millions of glasses" within "a couple of years"1

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. For context, there were 1.26 billion smartphones shipped in 2025, approximately 3% higher than the previous year, according to Counterpoint research1

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. Companies from Meta to Samsung are already developing smart glasses with integrated cameras, positioning themselves for this anticipated surge in demand.

New Hardware Competition and Data Collection Motivations

The proliferation of personal AI agents is opening doors for non-traditional hardware companies to enter the consumer electronics market1

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. Last year, OpenAI acquired io, the hardware startup founded by iconic Apple designer Jony Ive, signaling its intention to compete in consumer devices. Amon explained that "all the devices that we wear become endpoints for agents, and those AI companies understand they have to win those endpoints from agents"1

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. Beyond hardware competition, data collection represents another critical motivation. These wearable devices will gather data on a scale "exponentially larger" than current AI training datasets, making access to this information vital for training future models and creating bespoke AI experiences for users1

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Chip Architecture Overhaul for Energy-Efficient Chips

To support these smaller form factor devices, Qualcomm is undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of its chip roadmap. Amon revealed that the company's "entire roadmap is in a process of upgrade right now" because "none of the devices we have today are prepared for the future"1

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. The challenge lies in developing energy-efficient chips that deliver greater processing power while fitting into increasingly compact wearable devices like smart jewelry, pins, and watches. In May, Qualcomm reportedly reached a deal to supply TikTok parent ByteDance with application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for AI data centers, demonstrating its expanding role in AI infrastructure. Qualcomm stock gained 4.07% in pre-market trading following the announcement, with shares up 27.65% year-to-date.