Cristiano Amon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Qualcomm, visited Korea on the 21st and held back-to-back meetings with executives of major domestic companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and LG Electronics. The move is seen as an attempt to build a broad-based “artificial intelligence (AI) alliance” with leading Korean companies, spanning from foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) and high-performance memory to next-generation home appliances and mobility.

According to industry sources on the 21st, Amon met with Han Jin-man, President of Samsung Electronics’ Foundry Business, and others to discuss plans to outsource production of the next-generation application processor (AP) “Snapdragon 8 Elite 2” using Samsung Electronics’ 2-nanometer (nanometer; 1 nm is one-billionth of a meter) process. Amon had previously stated at “CES 2026” in January that “discussions have begun with Samsung Electronics on contract manufacturing using the 2-nanometer process.”

Amon is also known to have held a separate meeting with SK hynix executives to discuss securing a stable supply of high-performance memory. Qualcomm is rapidly expanding its business portfolio beyond smartphones to on-device AI, automotive semiconductors, and even data center AI accelerators such as the “Qualcomm AI200.”

In the afternoon, he held a closed-door meeting with LG Electronics executives, including President Ryu Jae-cheol. The meeting is seen as an attempt to seek synergies between LG Electronics, which is expanding into mobility, and Qualcomm, which has introduced the high-performance robotics processor “Dragonwing IQ10.”

An industry official said, “The partnership between Qualcomm and Korean companies, which used to focus mainly on smartphone components, is evolving into one that spans all advanced industrial sectors, including foundry, memory, automotive electronics, and robotics,” adding, “Amid the global competition for AI leadership, Qualcomm is accelerating its ecosystem alliances by positioning leading Korean companies as key partners.”

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