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)
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.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Qualcomm’s Entry into Robotics & Edge AI
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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.
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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]
2. Timeline for Robotic Adoption
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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.
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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].
3. The Digital Transformation of Cars
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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].
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Pipeline to Autonomy: Qualcomm partners with automakers (notably BMW) to deliver Level 2 and up autonomous driving, with test vehicles at CES.
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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].
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].
5. Wearables — The Next Computing Platform
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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].
6. The Future of the PC and AI
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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.
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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]
7. Addressing AI "Bubble" Criticism
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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]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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“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]
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
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.