Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon arrived in Seoul on April 21, 2026, for a series of high-level meetings with leadership at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The visit marks a strategic effort by the San Diego-based chipmaker to diversify its foundry partners and solidify its supply chain for next-generation artificial intelligence hardware. Amon’s agenda centered on two primary objectives: negotiating the production of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 application processor and securing a stable supply of high-bandwidth memory and LPDDR5X modules for Qualcomm’s expanding data center and edge AI portfolio.
During a meeting with Samsung Electronics Co-CEO Kyung Kye-hyun, Amon discussed the technical specifications for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, also referred to as the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. Qualcomm is seeking to utilize Samsung’s 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process technology for a portion of its flagship mobile chip production. This move follows Qualcomm’s multi-sourcing strategy, which aims to reduce reliance on a single foundry provider. Samsung’s 2nm node is expected to offer significant improvements in power efficiency and transistor density compared to the current 3nm generation. The discussions included yield rate projections and the timeline for mass production, which is slated to begin in late 2026.
Following the foundry discussions, Amon met with SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung to address the increasing demand for specialized memory in AI applications. Qualcomm is currently scaling its data center AI business, which requires massive quantities of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). The two companies reviewed supply agreements for HBM4, the next iteration of high-performance memory, which is critical for Qualcomm’s AI accelerators. Additionally, the talks covered the procurement of low-power double data rate (LPDDR) memory for the AI PC market and mobile devices, where Qualcomm’s NPU-heavy chips require faster data transfer rates to handle on-device generative AI workloads.
The visit comes as Qualcomm reports a shift in its revenue mix, with an increasing share of earnings derived from automotive and industrial AI sectors. Qualcomm recently reported quarterly automotive revenue of $1.1 billion, highlighting the company's shift toward diversified AI applications. By engaging with both Samsung and SK Hynix, Qualcomm is positioning itself to manage the logistical challenges of the 2nm era. Official statements from Qualcomm emphasized the importance of the South Korean semiconductor ecosystem in the company’s long-term roadmap. Samsung and SK Hynix representatives confirmed the meetings took place but declined to provide specific contract values or volume commitments, citing non-disclosure agreements typical of high-level supply chain negotiations.