Akeana

Semiconductors · AI Chips · RISC-V

Acquisition

Qualcomm acquires RISC-V startup Akeana to build AI data-center chips

The move cuts Qualcomm's reliance on licensed Arm architecture, a dependency that has previously fueled costly licensing disputes.

• Qualcomm has acquired Akeana, a US semiconductor startup founded in 2021 that designs processors on the open-source RISC-V architecture; deal terms were undisclosed.
• Akeana's founders previously built server processors like Marvell's ThunderX2, and the startup offers a full-stack RISC-V lineup from ultra-low-power embedded cores to 64-bit server-class CPU cores.
• Akeana partnered with Samsung Electronics' foundry division on its 4nm process, completing the tape-out of a server-class RISC-V test chip called Alpine in December 2025.
• Akeana founder and CEO Rabin Sugumar has joined Qualcomm as vice president of engineering, confirming on LinkedIn that his team would become part of Qualcomm.
• Akeana had raised more than $100 million in August 2024 from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, and Fidelity before being acquired.
• The deal follows Qualcomm's $2.4 billion Alphawave acquisition and a custom AI-inference collaboration with Amazon, and comes as Qualcomm separately competes with Intel for RISC-V AI chip startup Tenstorrent in a deal that could exceed $5 billion.
• Absorbing Akeana's server-class RISC-V IP and engineering team gives Qualcomm a path to reduce dependence on licensed Arm cores as it chases data-center and AI silicon customers, though no product timeline or customer commitments have been disclosed.