Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon Talks Robotics, AI

Summary

Bloomberg Talks Episode: Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon Talks Robotics, AI Date: January 6, 2026 Host: Caroline Hyde (Bloomberg Tech) Guest: Cristiano Amon (CEO & President, Qualcomm)

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Episode Overview

In this CES 2026 special, Bloomberg Tech’s Caroline Hyde sits down with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon to discuss Qualcomm’s expanding footprint in robotics, edge AI, autonomous cars, and the evolution of personal devices like wearables and PCs. Amon shares insights on the pace of robotic and AI innovation, the company's strategy in the automotive and wearable tech sectors, and addresses skepticism around the longevity of the AI boom.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Qualcomm’s Entry into Robotics & Edge AI

• Expansion Beyond Mobile: Amon frames robotics as the next phase of Qualcomm's journey, building on previous expansions from mobile to automotive, PCs, industrial, and data center.

• Edge AI Focus: Robotics, he says, is an “edge AI problem” needing on-device compute and efficient power—Qualcomm’s specialty. Industrial robotics is already surging, with consumer humanoid robots further off but inevitable.

  “We like robotics a lot because by definition is it edge AI problem to solve... You cannot put a server in a robot. You need battery life, you need a lot of integration of sensors.”
  —Cristiano Amon [01:23]

• Physical AI: Amon sees "physical AI"—embedding AI capabilities into physical machines—as the coming big wave.

  “Physical AI is a massive opportunity and it's an edge opportunity... It's going to be the next big wave of AI.”
  —Cristiano Amon [01:45]

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2. Timeline for Robotic Adoption

• Industrial First, Consumer Later: Industrial robots using AI are already practical. Fully autonomous consumer robots (“robots in your house that do everything for you”) are a longer-term opportunity.

• Parallel with Autonomous Vehicles: Just as driver-assist features preceded full self-driving, expect incremental progress in robotics, first in enterprise and retail, later at home.

  “I like to do this parallel with what we saw with automotive... first you have a lot of enterprise in the industrial applications. Over time, we're going to have the domestic robot that would do everything for you.”
  —Cristiano Amon [03:25]

  • Example: Robots are already restocking grocery shelves at night [03:45].

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3. The Digital Transformation of Cars

• Digital Cockpit as Core of In-Car Experience: Amon believes the future of car innovation lies in the "digital cockpit," making cars computing platforms in their own right.

  “The most important part of the car digital experience is the digital cockpit. Because the digital cockpit became a computing surface, like your phone is a computing surface, the laptop’s a computing [surface]. Now the car.”
  —Cristiano Amon [04:25]

• Massive Adoption: 75 million cars now run Qualcomm’s digital cockpit platform [04:50].

• Pipeline to Autonomy: Qualcomm partners with automakers (notably BMW) to deliver Level 2 and up autonomous driving, with test vehicles at CES.

• Tesla Recognized as Leader: While Tesla is “ahead,” Qualcomm sees multiple automakers soon achieving “some level of autonomy in every single car.”

  “Tesla is probably ahead... but you're going to get to it. I think fully autonomous cars, but you're going to have some level of autonomy in every single car.”
  —Cristiano Amon [05:55]

• Safety & Real-World Data: Key to winning is proving safety and building up real-world driving data, where Tesla holds an advantage [06:30].

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4. Competition & Partnerships

• Open Market, Many Winners: Amon envisions significant diversity in car ownership and driving experiences. There won't be one winner; everyone from traditional manufacturers to tech companies and robo-taxi providers will play a part.
• Strategic Collaborations: References to partnerships with Google (infotainment/auto experiences) and automakers for deploying Qualcomm’s platforms [07:13].

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5. Wearables — The Next Computing Platform

• Beyond the Smartphone: While smartphones will endure, the rise of AI-powered wearables—glasses, rings, jewelry—will define the next stage.

  “Phones are not going anywhere... But when you think about AI agentic experiences...that's going to happen with wearables. Humans already decided what they're going to wear... So we're starting the emergence of those smart wearable personal devices.”
  —Cristiano Amon [07:32]

• Qualcomm Powers Leading Designs: Major AI device companies are choosing Qualcomm for wearable design. Announcements expected throughout the year [08:25].

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6. The Future of the PC and AI

• AI PCs (AIPC): The “AI PC” is seen mostly as an enterprise play, now accelerating with Microsoft’s new AI-native Windows and SaaS agents.

• Always-On AI & Battery Life: Qualcomm’s AI chips are optimized for all-day battery and passive AI agents.

  “Now that you're going to put AI running all the time, that's where we're going to shine off. Unplugged performance.”
  —Cristiano Amon [09:29]

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7. Addressing AI "Bubble" Criticism

• Cycle of Hype vs. Reality: Amon argues that while short-term overinvestment is natural in new tech, he firmly believes AI’s long-term impact is underhyped.

  “In the long run, I still believe AI is under hype. And the way I'll do this parallel for you, the Internet in the year 2000 was probably overhyped. But...the Internet [became] much bigger than what they thought...and I think it's going to be the same thing.”
  —Cristiano Amon [10:32]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You cannot put a server in a robot. You need battery life, you need a lot of integration of sensors.”
  —Cristiano Amon [01:25]

• “Industrial robot is the big, largest opportunity that we see in front of us. And it's probably starting as early as 2026.”
  —Cristiano Amon [02:50]

• “The digital cockpit became a computing surface, like your phone, like your laptop. Now, the car.”
  —Cristiano Amon [04:29]

• “In the long run, I still believe AI is under hype.”
  —Cristiano Amon [10:32]

• “Phones are not going anywhere... But personal devices are the new mobile platform.”
  —Cristiano Amon [07:34]

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Segment Timestamps

• 01:01 — Podcast begins at CES, focus on robotics and AI
• 01:23 — Physical AI and Qualcomm’s role in edge robotics
• 02:44 — How soon until home robots? Industry parallels to autonomous vehicles
• 04:25 — Digital cockpit and transformation of the vehicle
• 05:55 — Tesla’s lead; prospects for full autonomy
• 07:13 — Qualcomm’s partnerships, future of wearables
• 09:00 — The evolution of the PC with AI, enterprise focus
• 10:09 — Addressing the AI bubble/overhype critique

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Tone & Takeaways

Cristiano Amon speaks with optimism and pragmatism, emphasizing industry shifts, partnerships, and Qualcomm’s solutions-driven approach to future tech. He positions Qualcomm as essential—in robotics, automotive, PCs, and wearables—whenever real-world AI requires energy efficiency and real-time computing. The recurring theme: we’re only at the beginning of a transformational era for physical and agentic AI.

Transcript

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[Bloomberg Tech Host]

Our Bloomberg Tech team. They're on the ground at the annual Consumer Tech Summit known as CES right now. Bloomberg Tech co host Caroline Hyde sitting down with Cristiano Amon, CEO and President of Qualcomm. Caroline, take it away.

[Caroline Hyde]

Carol, thank you. It is a party vibe out here at CES and a man who knows all about music from his hometown in Brazil. He'll be able to cope with the noise level. Cristiano but you're part of not the noise, but the statements being made here at the moment. Robotics when it comes to the future of autonomous driving, when it comes to physical AI, talk to us about robots. Where is your technology really leading the charge there?

[Cristiano Amon]

Yes, look, we're incredibly excited about this is a new chapter, I think of the Qualcomm expansion and diversification. I think we're going to robotics. We like robotics a lot because by definition is it edge AI problem to solve, no different than what we did in automotive. You cannot put a server in a robot. You need battery life, you need a lot of integration of sensors. And physical AI is a massive opportunity and it's an edge opportunity. So as we look at this transition of Qualcomm into new industry, we went to automotive to PC to industrial to data center. Now robotics is the next opportunity. We actually have a number of robots here at our booth at CES demonstrating training humanoids industrial. I think we started the year working with some, you know, great companies, German Kuka Figure AI. And I think it's going to be a great opportunity. And robotics, it's perfect for you to have high performance computing and low power connectivity is an edge AI problem. And I think it's going to be the next big wave of AI. Physical AI.

[Caroline Hyde]

How soon is that reality? Already we have robots in manufacturing and industrial, but how soon is it fully Autonomous robots. How soon do we start to have the humanoid versions in our houses?

[Cristiano Amon]

Look, the way, the way we think about this is things that you, you didn't were possible to do with a robot. You can do it right now using AI. I think industrial robot is the big, largest opportunity that we see in front of us. And it's probably starting as early as 2026 when you train, use AI to train a robot on one given task. It's, it's a very well defined problem and you can do this and you put into production consumer robot, the one that is going to be in your house and do everything for you. It's going to take a little bit of time, but it's going to happen and it's going to be a big opportunity. I like to do this parallel with what we saw with automotive. When we start talking about autonomous cars. A lot of companies went in and said, we're just going to get this full autonomous robo taxi. But until you get there, you can do assisted driving to every car on the road, assuming that the driver is there to pick it up. And we've seen ADAS Level 2, Level 3, Highway Autopilot. Highway autopilot. That's what we're doing. I think the same parallel applies to robotics first. You have a lot of enterprise in the industrial applications. We see companies, for example, in retail at night robot go to the aisles of the supermarket and restock the shelves. Something very simple. That opportunity is happening right now. Over time, we're going to have the domestic robot that would do everything for you.

[Caroline Hyde]

Okay, let's go to your car focus though, because your DNA is mobile, but then it has indeed gone to robotics, but also is where you've dominated. Look, we've just had Jensen Huang on stage saying, hey, I'm getting into the world of autonomous driving platforms too. How do you see that ecosystem evolving?

[Cristiano Amon]

Okay, the most important thing is to really understand what's happening in car. Car becomes a digital product. So from Qualcomm, we're going to have a slightly different perspective. We think that the most important part of the car digital experience is the digital cockpit. Because the digital cockpit became a computing surface, like your phone is a computing surface, the laptops a computing service. Now the car. And when you think about AI coming into the car, agentic experiences, that is very natural. Voice is very natural. That's going to happen to the cockpit. Today, I think we just announced we have now 75 million cars now in the road with the Qualcomm digital Cockpit. Our pipeline is is transforming into revenue. And we're designing with virtually every car company using the digital cockpit. The next is what's happening in, in autonomy. And in autonomy you have, you have this transition. You can bring to, to bring safety and reduce accidents. You can bring assisted driving to every car starting with level two, all the way up and then you're going to have full autonomy. So we have been actually driving the processor for this assisted driving and now with a stack that we develop with BMW, we launch, it's available. People are test car here is and is available to every OEM to have a sense of driving in every car, every car model. And eventually you're going to get in a couple of years to our fully autonomous cars. Yes, I think Tesla is probably ahead, I will say the, the other solutions a couple of years out, but you're going to get to it. I think fully autonomous cars, but you're going to have some level of autonomy in every single car.

[Caroline Hyde]

And you talk about Tesla being ahead. Like Elon Musk has said he's not losing sleep. A Jensen Huang coming after that piece of the pie. And of course they have a client relationship to who can win and how many players can win.

[Cristiano Amon]

Look, there's going to be different types of car ownership. Some people wanted to drive the car, some people wanted to have an assisted driving, some people want to not own a car, some people want a robo taxi. It's a, it's a big opportunity. I think there's going to be multiple players that are going to win. I feel the issue of fully autonomous cars, the biggest feature that you have to, to sell is safety. How safety, how safe is your solution is and I think those takes time. One of the advantages Tesla is they've been doing this for longer so they have a lot of miles of real world miles, not only simulation to perfect the solution, but it's going to happen. It's going to be a reality of many car companies in the next few years.

[Caroline Hyde]

And of course you've got a strong relationship with Google when it comes to being within the auto as well in many ways. Take us therefore where you see the next innovations. Robots were almost there, cars to going, we're were already there. Everyone I'm seeing is getting excited about the wearables, the penance, the jewelry. Where does Qualcomm play in that? Because that's an edge device.

[Cristiano Amon]

Yes, this, this is another area of excitement for Qualcomm because we are probably now willing to make a statement that is the evolution of mobile platform. Phones are not Going anywhere. Phones are incredibly useful. They will continue to be useful in the same way that when the smartphone arrived, your laptop didn't go anywhere. However, when you think about AI in a gen experiences this agent that is with you all the time and you're going to ask a question, you answer will help you navigate, help you do your daily thing. That's going to happen with wearables. Humans already decided what they're going to wear. They're going to wear glasses and jewelry and watches and rings and you can put an agent connect to it, give you context because something you wear all the time. So we're starting the emergence of those smart wearable personal devices. We're excited about it because this require for you to make something that is small, a lot of performance, low power. So every major AI company that is doing a device is designing with Qualcomm right now we have every design and some of those are being announced as some will be announced throughout the year. But personal devices are the new mobile platform.

[Tom Keene]

Wow.

[Caroline Hyde]

Okay. So if that's the way we're going to be doing wearables, where is the future of PCs? Because that was the first sort of broadening out and AI PCs has it really caught on and people wanting to go there is a more enterprise adoption versus a consumer. Consumer adoption.

[Cristiano Amon]

Yes. So the Microsoft just launched the new version of Windows with agents and I think we all been kind of waiting for this moment and you're starting to see a lot of the SaaS companies there have been spend the past decade going to the cloud creating agents as well. So I think we're just at the beginning of the inflection point of a IPC is more of an enterprise play than a consumer play. Even though it will be part of a lot of consumer use cases and and I remain optimistic about it. RPC business we just started, we have about 150 designs. Most of our designs is because people wanted to do a thin and light and multi day battery life. But now that you're going to put AI running all the time, that's where we're going to shine off. Unplugged performance. And it's going to happen. I think it's going to happen in the enterprise boom of AI. You're going to see a lot of IPCs associated. What is happening on the data center as well.

[Caroline Hyde]

So Cristiano, for all those people out there who are like this is a bubble, this is height, the real return on investment isn't coming yet. What do you say to that sort.

[Cristiano Amon]

Of critique for us, I think we're doing, we're doing things on the edge. The stuff that humans are buying and I think on when we going into the data center is for, for inference. But here's the answer to your question. Everybody's playing to win, right? So we've seen this movie before. Everybody's playing to win. Everybody's building capacity to win. Will everybody win? Probably not. There are going to be few win. And I think the way to think about this is maybe, maybe in the short term you could argue that, you know, maybe there's overinvestment. I think it's a natural, it's a natural consequence that everybody planning to win. But in the long run, I still believe AI is under hype. And the way I'll do this parallel for you, the Internet in the year 2000 was probably overhyped. But in the year 2000 when people thought what the Internet will be today was a fraction, it's much bigger than what they thought you would be. And I think it's going to be the same thing.

[Caroline Hyde]

Christian, I'm on so great to get your optimism. And here right on the floor of cs.

[Tom Keene]

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