Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon speaks at the Computex forum in Taipei, Taiwan, June 3, 2024.

Ann Wang | Reuters

Qualcomm recently approached struggling chipmaker Intel about a takeover, CNBC has confirmed.

It wasn’t clear if Intel had engaged in conversations with Qualcomm or what the terms would be, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information was confidential.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the matter. Intel shares initially popped on the news before closing up about 3%, while Qualcomm shares fell about 3% at the close. 

The deal, if it were to happen, would be one of the largest technology mergers ever. Intel has a market cap of over $90 billion.

Once the world’s largest chipmaker, Intel has for years been in a downward spiral that accelerated in 2024. The stock had its biggest one-day drop in over 50 years in August after the company reported disappointing earnings. Intel shares are down 53% this year as investors express doubts about the company’s costly plans to manufacture and design chips.

Qualcomm and Intel compete in several markets, including for PC and laptop chips. However, Qualcomm, unlike Intel, doesn’t manufacture its own chips, and instead relies on firms such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung to handle production.

On Monday, after a board meeting to discuss strategy, Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger sent a memo to staff that reiterated the company’s commitment to investing heavily in its foundry business, a project that could cost $100 billion over the next five years. It also said that it was weighing outside investment.

Intel has also missed out on the artificial intelligence boom that’s captured the attention of Wall Street. Most of the advanced AI programs, such as ChatGPT, run on Nvidia graphics processors, instead of Intel central processors. Nvidia has more than 80% of the fast-growing market, according to analysts.

Qualcomm generates less revenue than Intel. It reported $35.8 billion in sales in fiscal 2023, compared with Intel’s $54.2 billion during the same period.

A potential deal would be complicated by antitrust and national security matters. Both Intel and Qualcomm do business in China, and both have seen deals scuttled by Chinese antitrust enforcers. Intel was unsuccessful with its attempted acquisition of Tower Semiconductor, as was Qualcomm in its bid to acquire NXP Semiconductor.

Other giant acquisitions in the space have also been scuttled. In 2017, Broadcom made a bid to buy Qualcomm for more than $100 billion. The Trump administration blocked the deal the following year on national security concerns, because Broadcom was based in Singapore at the time. And in 2021, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Nvidia’s attempted purchase of Arm on antitrust grounds. The deal was called off in 2022 following additional pressure from regulators in Europe and Asia.

Representatives for Qualcomm and Intel declined to comment.