With over four decades of pioneering innovation from 3G to 5G and now shaping the AI and 6G era, Qualcomm continues to define what’s next in wireless technology. As Qualcomm celebrates 40 years globally and 20 years in India, its influence on the mobile ecosystem, chip architecture, and AI-driven computing is stronger than ever. In an exclusive interaction with Express Computer, Nitin Kumar, Vice President – Product Management, Snapdragon Chipset, Qualcomm, discusses the company’s transformative journey, India’s pivotal role in driving innovation, and how Snapdragon continues to redefine user experiences across devices.
Qualcomm has played a pivotal role in shaping wireless technology from 3G to 4G to 5G, and now as we approach 6G, how would you reflect on this journey? What stands out as your most transformative milestone?
It’s a proud moment for us as Qualcomm celebrates 40 years since its inception by our founder Irwin Jacobs in 1985 and, equally, 20 years of Qualcomm’s presence in India. Over these two decades, our India teams have played an instrumental role in driving Qualcomm’s technical leadership—fuelling product development and pushing the boundaries of innovation not just for Qualcomm but for the entire industry.
Outside of our headquarters in the United States, India is the largest employee base for Qualcomm, and it continues to drive innovation across all facets, from product design, technology, and software to partnerships and AI. The brainpower here has significantly contributed to Qualcomm’s success, and we take immense pride in how our India office has helped push the company and the world forward.
You mentioned the Snapdragon X Elite delivering a 75% improvement in multitasking performance. How does Qualcomm see the future of computing blending power efficiency with high performance?
That’s a very important point. Qualcomm has consistently led technological innovation in smartphones, and now when you think of mobile devices, you think of Snapdragon. We’ve been optimising for mobile-first, battery-first devices for over 15 years, tightly integrating our CPU and GPU IPs with our power management systems to deliver superior performance and multi-day battery life.
Now, we’re bringing that same innovation to PCs. With the Snapdragon X Elite and the newer X2 Elite, we’ve reimagined laptops as true mobile devices—delivering powerful, high-performance computing while maintaining remarkable power efficiency. Our goal is simple: you shouldn’t have to compromise between productivity and mobility. A laptop should be as portable and long-lasting as your smartphone.
As we move toward 6G and deeper AI integration, how does Qualcomm stay ahead of the curve, and where does India fit into this long-term vision?
Being at the leading edge of technology is part of our DNA. For the last 40 years, we’ve led every major transition—2G to 3G, 3G to 4G, and 4G to 5G—always pushing for better connectivity and computing capabilities.
Now, with AI becoming integral to every device, it’s worth noting that Qualcomm integrated an AI engine into its smartphone chips nearly a decade ago. The R&D for that began close to 15 years ago—long before AI became mainstream. That’s how we operate: we build for the future, years before the world begins to talk about it.
India plays a critical role in this journey. The country’s contribution in AI, software engineering, and system-level innovation has been vital. Qualcomm India has evolved from being a support centre to a powerhouse of innovation, driving next-generation technologies across all our product lines.
You mentioned that India is Qualcomm’s largest engineering base outside the US. Could you share some examples of how Indian teams are contributing to core innovation, such as chip or security architecture?
Absolutely. Take the Snapdragon X2 Elite architecture as an example. Our teams in the US and India co-develop the chip design architecture, including CPU and GPU design. The India team also collaborates closely with TSMC, our foundry partner, ensuring the most advanced manufacturing processes are seamlessly integrated.
Beyond the chip level, Indian engineers are deeply involved in system-level innovation—how the SoC integrates into the full system, PCB layouts, and component optimisation. At the software level, our Indian teams co-develop frameworks and drivers that enhance performance and efficiency.
This end-to-end collaboration is what enables Qualcomm to deliver groundbreaking results like those seen with the X2 Elite. The numbers speak for themselves; it’s a result of global teamwork with India playing a pivotal role across the entire stack.
Qualcomm Ventures has been supporting Indian startups for years. How do these partnerships help build a sustainable local innovation pipeline?
We firmly believe in nurturing local innovation. Through Qualcomm Ventures, we actively invest in Indian startups that are developing transformative technologies. Our goal is to fuel technological advancement from within the country, helping startups grow, scale, and contribute to the broader digital ecosystem.
This approach not only supports the startup ecosystem but also strengthens Qualcomm’s commitment to India’s digital future by fostering collaboration and innovation at the grassroots level.
Talent is a major differentiator today. How is Qualcomm India working to develop and retain top engineering talent?
While this isn’t my direct area of expertise, I can say that we have an excellent internship and university partnership programme in India. We engage closely with several leading institutions to identify and nurture young talent early on.
When I was in college, Qualcomm wasn’t present in India yet; if it had been, I’d have loved to intern here! So, I think it’s wonderful that today’s students have that opportunity to experience cutting-edge technology development first-hand.
Snapdragon has become a household name and a consumer brand in its own right. How did Qualcomm achieve this transformation, especially in a price-conscious market like India?
For us, it all begins with technology. We believe that building great products is the foundation for success. Indian consumers are incredibly savvy; they want the best experience at every price point. Snapdragon stands for delivering that promise of excellence.
When consumers buy Snapdragon-powered devices, they’re buying into a promise that guarantees premium performance, efficiency, and reliability. Our brand has become synonymous with that experience. We’ve invested heavily in ensuring that Snapdragon resonates with users as a mark of trust and innovation.
How much does consumer feedback shape Qualcomm’s roadmap today?
Very significantly. We actively gather feedback across all regions and partners to understand what users expect from their devices—what experiences they value most and how they use their technology daily.
This feedback directly informs our product roadmap. If something isn’t resonating with users, we pivot. Ultimately, our business revolves around enhancing people’s lives. Every Snapdragon product aims to elevate the consumer experience, and our roadmap evolves to reflect that.
How do you balance pushing premium performance while ensuring accessible innovation for diverse segments like students, first-time buyers, and consumers in Tier-II and Tier-III markets?
That’s rooted in our technological foundation. The Snapdragon X Elite architecture stands on three pillars: performance, multi-day battery life, and AI. These are non-negotiable.
When we scale products across different price tiers, we adjust parameters like CPU cores, GPU performance, or AI and video capabilities, but never compromise those three pillars. That’s what defines Snapdragon. Every device, regardless of price, should embody these core values.
The Snapdragon X2 Elite has been described as a “legendary leap”. What makes its performance so transformative?
It truly is a generational leap across every metric like CPU, GPU, and AI performance. To give you perspective, CPU performance is 40% faster, GPU performance is up to 2x better, and AI processing delivers around 80 TOPS.
These aren’t marginal improvements; they’re fundamental shifts. The X2 Elite architecture allows OEMs to create ultra-thin yet powerful devices with desktop-grade performance and multi-day battery life.
More importantly, it enables on-device AI experiences running multiple models locally, continuously, and efficiently. That’s the foundation of the coming agentic AI era, where devices operate intelligently in the background. The X2 Elite makes that future possible.
For creators and gamers, how do these hardware improvements translate into real-world advantages?
Creators are a key audience for us. Many rely on applications like Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro, or Maxon’s Cinema 4D and ZBrush. We’ve partnered closely with these companies to optimise their software for Snapdragon’s NPU.
The results are impressive, up to 40–50% faster performance compared to competitors. For creators, that’s game-changing. It enhances productivity, unlocks new creative capabilities, and allows them to work on the go with multi-day battery life.
Imagine editing 4K videos or rendering complex scenes on a sleek, ultra-thin laptop, that’s now possible with Snapdragon X2 Elite.
With the rise of on-device AI and powerful NPUs, how do you see creative workflows and real-time computing evolving?
Our investment in NPU architecture continues to expand dramatically. From Gen 1 to Gen 3, we’ve made significant leaps to enable diverse AI applications and models to run locally in real time.
This low-power, always-on AI capability transforms the user experience. It enables continuous, intelligent processing, be it for creative tasks, productivity, or contextual understanding. We believe this will usher in a new era of transformational AI experiences on devices.
As the lines blur between smartphones, laptops, and edge devices, how does Qualcomm view this convergence?
That’s a great question. Smartphones are your most personal devices, used primarily for consumption, while laptops are more creation-orientated. But those boundaries are rapidly blurring.
Our vision is simple: whether you’re watching, creating, or collaborating, you should enjoy the same premium Snapdragon experience across devices. The same performance, the same efficiency, and the same battery life, be it on your phone, laptop, or edge device.
At the end of the day, it’s about delivering a seamless, consistent, high-quality experience.