Qualcomm unveils driverless tech with BMW, sees 'domino effect' of customers

Qualcomm's self-driving technology developed alongside BMW is expected to spark significant interest from other automakers keen to licence the system, the CEO of the U.S. chip giant told CNBC.

The comments underscore how Qualcomm, a major player in smartphone chips, is diversifying its business into new areas, with automotive among its fastest-growing divisions.

Last week, Qualcomm and German auto giant BMW announced an automated driving system that is built on the former's semiconductors.

It's called the Snapdragon Ride Pilot Automated Driving System and is a type of driver-assist feature. It allows hands-free driving on certain roads or even lane changing, but not for the car to be fully driverless.

The system will debut on the new BMW iX3 and the companies say it will be available across 100 countries by 2026.

But while the system has been developed with BMW, Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, told CNBC in an interview Tuesday that the technology has been designed to licence to other automakers.

"Everybody's been waiting for this moment, including ourselves, because people wanted to see how it performs in the street," Amon said, adding that the BMW iX3 will launch with the automated driving technology in 60 countries. This will allow the system to be demonstrated, he said.

"I think what I expect to happen, as OEMs [Original Equipment Manufacturers] see how it compares and how competitive it is, that's going to ignite a domino effect" of other carmakers wanting to use the technology, Amon said.

The Qualcomm CEO said the company had "made a lot of progress" in talks with other carmakers, but is "not yet ready to announce" any partnerships yet.

Qualcomm's biggest revenue driver is the chips that power smartphones from players including Samsung and Xiaomi.

But Amon has looked to diversify the company into new areas, including PC chips, data center semiconductors and automotive.

He has big hopes for the auto business, which brought in nearly $1 billion in the June quarter and grew 21% year-on-year. The company has previously said it expects automotive revenue to grow to $8 billion by its 2029 fiscal year.

In an effort to achieve that, Qualcomm is designing technology for various parts of a car. Its chips can power in-car entertainment systems, for example, and on Monday, the company announced a partnership with Google Cloud that allows automakers to create their own digital assistants.

"[Qualcomm] are building a whole ecosystem led by software," Murtuza Ali, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC. "The main thing is they are a fully integrated solution provider for autonomy, which is what they were lacking."

Traditional car firms, particularly in Europe, are thought to be falling behind when it comes to technology such as autonomous driving, compared with their rivals from China.