Qualcomm forms new alliance with Samsung, hopes it will quell other antitrust concerns

Qualcomm has seen better days, with many ongoing lawsuits, antitrust claims and rumours of a hostile bid takeover from its rival Broadcom. In a strike of good news, the chipmaker has finally struck a deal with Samsung that hopes to quell those rumours alongside eliminating its South Korean antitrust case entirely.

The details of the new patent cross-licensing agreement have yet to be revealed, however the two companies will be working together on Qualcomm’s processors to enable its “transition to 5G.” This will not free up the royalty agreements between the two companies, however, as Samsung will still be paying the mobile chipmaker over the sale of its handsets.

While this will help Qualcomm start sustaining itself a little better throughout 2018, its main sigh of relief comes from Samsung officially taken a step back from intervening in its appeal against its $854 million fine from the Korean Fair Trade Commission.

With this being Qualcomm’s first sign of success regarding its many legal battles, thoughts are now turning towards its high-profile clash against Apple. Chief Executive Officer Steve Mollenkopf took the opportunity during Qualcomm’s earnings call to state that the company is willing to try and resolve the case outside of court so that the two can go back to collaborating once again, leaving the ball firmly in the iPhone maker’s court.

Surprisingly, Qualcomm has reported first-quarter revenue growth, albeit by just one percent. Its fourth quarter ending December 2017, however, took a massive hit with a loss of $6 billion. Hopefully this is the first steps for the company to get back on its feet and avoid what would be a record breaking hostile takeover in the tech world.

KitGuru Says: It seems that Qualcomm has acknowledged that it is its own common denominator in the many legal battles it’s faced with and must act accordingly to avoid sinking under the pressure. I’m unsure if Apple will bite in the same way, but with many legal battles of its own, it might be in its best interests.

Become a Patron!