The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday that chipmaker Qualcomm has approached competitor Intel about a potential acquisition

A deal of this magnitude would be one of the most significant high-tech acquisitions in some time, and it is highly credible given the predicament Intel has been in over the past few years, lagging behind its competitors in the chip business

The WSJ, however, reports that sources familiar with the matter say the acquisition is “far from a sure thing This makes sense given the possibility that Qualcomm will sell some of Intel's assets and companies to other buyers, which could tear Intel apart

Based on the stock market at the time of the report, Qualcomm is currently worth twice as much as Intel and is trending upward

Qualcomm is best known for making the chips that power most Android phones on the market, and its high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 powers popular phones like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra [Qualcomm expanded significantly into Intel territory this year with the Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite chips in new Microsoft Copilot+ PCs such as the Surface Pro 11 Qualcomm beat out Intel and AMD to get the first chips to power these new AI-enabled Windows laptops, while Intel will launch a Lunar Lake-powered Copilot+ PC this fall

Qualcomm is also focusing on AI, recently hosting an event at its Southern California headquarters to show how its processors can add AI capabilities to phones and computers

Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Qualcomm approached Intel to get the Silicon Valley company to manufacture Snapdragon chips in Intel's foundry This effort was halted due to a “technical snafu”

Meanwhile, Intel appears to be falling behind rivals such as AMD and Broadcom

In August, it was reported that Intel would lay off 15,000 people (an estimated 15% of its workforce) to cut costs, and CEO Pat Gelsinger is aiming for $10 billion in cuts by 2025 With the company posting a $16 billion loss in the second quarter of this year, it is easy to imagine Intel selling to a competitor

Avi Greengart, consumer technology analyst and founder of Techsponential, seemed skeptical about how Qualcomm and Intel could pull off a deal

“My initial thought was that Qualcomm would take over the client side of the business so that Intel could focus on the foundry business

“How would Qualcomm pay for that and how could Intel fund the foundry business without that cost?

And since both companies are global, the issue is further complicated by the need for regulatory approvals in every country

We will have to wait and see if a real deal comes out of all this clamor Stay tuned