Qualcomm $QCOM jumps 11% on OpenAI chip report; 2028 timing flagged

Qualcomm $QCOM rallied to $148.85 by 12:52 UTC on April 27, up $15.01 or about 11.2% from the prior close, after a report linked the chipmaker to OpenAI’s next hardware push. CNBC said the stock opened with gains of as much as 12% in premarket trading, making it one of the sharpest single-stock moves in large-cap semiconductors in this 48-hour window. The move was headline-driven, but the market clearly decided the supply-chain angle was credible enough to reprice QCOM immediately.

The catalyst was analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s post on X, later summarized by CNBC’s market report. Kuo said OpenAI is working with Qualcomm and MediaTek to develop smartphone processors, with Luxshare acting as the exclusive system co-design and manufacturing partner. He also said mass production is expected in 2028. Qualcomm, OpenAI and MediaTek did not immediately confirm the report, which means the trade is still resting on supply-chain intelligence rather than a signed public contract.

The reason the market cared is obvious. Qualcomm already dominates Android handset silicon through Snapdragon, and an OpenAI-branded device would pull the company back into the premium AI hardware narrative just as investors have worried about smartphone saturation and PC AI execution. CNBC also noted that OpenAI bought Jony Ive’s startup io for $6.4B in equity last year, and Kuo argued that a phone remains the most useful always-with-you device for an AI agent because it captures a user’s real-time state. Before Monday’s jump, Qualcomm shares were down 13% year to date.

What to watch next is confirmation risk. If OpenAI or Qualcomm validate the project, investors will shift quickly from rumor to bill-of-materials math, foundry allocation and who controls the software layer. If the companies stay silent, QCOM still has to defend a double-digit move built on one analyst’s channel checks. Either way, April 27 put Qualcomm back on the shortlist of AI hardware names the market is willing to chase on a credible product-cycle story.