Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon on the Future of AI, China, and Why He Thinks Doing Business Is Like Fighting in the Colosseum

You’ve said, I tell my team, we are in the gladiator business. Do you honestly say that?

The reason I use this analogy is because if you’re a gladiator, you go to the Colosseum, There’s going to be three outcomes: You’re going to win, you’re going to lose, or you’re both going to lose. So you go in, you have a 33% chance of success. If you win, the only thing you accomplished, you can go to the Colosseum one more time.

You’ve also said that whatever people believe AI is going to be, it’s probably going to be bigger. What makes you so sure?

Back in the 2000, people said the internet’s going to be big…If you look now, 26 years later, the internet is way bigger than people thought—by an order of magnitude. It’s probably been underhyped in the long run.

You envision a world where humans interact with information that moves beyond smartphones. History makes me question this. So far these devices have failed to take off. Can you convince me now that that future that we’ve been waiting for is finally here?

I have 40 different designs today of people doing personal AI devices. There are companies doing glasses, which is obvious. There’s jewelry, pendants, pens, bracelets, watches…Will all those things pan out? I don’t know. I tell you what, right now I’m very comfortable making one bet. Glasses will because this is prime real estate. It’s close to my eyes, to my ears, to my mouth. 

Is it important for you for Qualcomm to be seen as an AI company?

The future of computing is AI. So by definition, if we’re a computing company, we’re going to be an AI company. Those things are no longer separable.

You recently accompanied President Trump to his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. What did the trip tell you about the future of the semiconductor supply chain?

I came out of the trip optimistic. There’s value in providing semiconductors in American technology stacks to companies in China.

Should Americans be concerned if you sell advanced chips to Chinese companies?

Chips are in everything right now. Chips are in every consumer electronic device and in cars and appliances and everything…It’s pretty easy to understand: Do you like American technology for America? Or do you like American technology for the world?

You present it as if there’s one obvious choice, but there are lots of people who would disagree with you.

At the end of the day, it’s just math…every leading semiconductor company right now has exposure in business in China. That’s a good thing.