Qualcomm

Qualcomm’s official history says seven former Linkabit colleagues met at Irwin Jacobs’s home in 1985 to create a company named for “quality communications.” The group pursued Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), a wireless technology that Qualcomm says became the foundation for worldwide 3G networks and helped define later 4G and 5G technologies. Qualcomm records a commercial CDMA rollout in 1995, following its early work on cellular communications and mobile data. [1]

The 2025 Form 10-K describes Qualcomm as a global technology company focused on on-device artificial intelligence, high-performance and low-power computing, and advanced wireless connectivity. It says revenue is derived principally from integrated-circuit products, including Snapdragon and Dragonwing system solutions, and from licensing intellectual property. The filing reports fiscal 2025 revenue of $44.3 billion, with QCT equipment-and-services revenue growing as handset, internet-of-things and automotive revenue increased. [2]

Qualcomm’s current operating model has three reportable segments: QCT semiconductor products and system software, QTL technology licensing, and QSI strategic investments. QCT covers mobile devices, automotive connectivity and digital cockpits, ADAS/automated driving, consumer and industrial IoT, and edge networking; QTL licenses patents and other wireless intellectual property. The company’s headquarters and some research-and-development operations are in San Diego, California, while the 2025 filing also describes facilities and R&D activity in the United States, India, China, Singapore and Germany. [2]