Qualcomm's new CIO Attila Tinic is deploying generative AI tools company-wide—from coding assistants to autonomous agents handling purchase orders and IT tasks—to support the semiconductor maker's push to diversify beyond smartphones. Tinic is tracking AI's impact through volume, velocity, and quality metrics while managing token spending carefully as the company targets $40 billion（約6.4兆円） in non-handset revenue by fiscal 2029.
Summaries like this, in your inbox every morning.
Sign up free →What happened
Attila Tinic joined Qualcomm as CIO in February 2025 after roles in telecommunications, and has created centralized AI and data teams while deploying AI tools widely across the company—including coding assistants, Microsoft Copilot, and generative AI features from ServiceNow, Salesforce, and Atlassian. Examples include AI agents that validate purchase orders and handle laptop refreshes autonomously.
Why it matters
Qualcomm is diversifying away from the volatile smartphone market, targeting $40 billion（約6.4兆円） in non-handset revenue and $15 billion（約2.4兆円） in data center sales by fiscal 2029, announced at an investor day last month. Tinic sees internal AI adoption as key to freeing employees from administrative tasks so they can focus on high-value work that drives business growth into data centers, automotive, and IoT.
What to watch
Tinic assesses AI progress using three metrics—volume, velocity, and quality—and has set 'generous' token spending limits for employees using AI models like Anthropic's Claude, moving each AI use case toward production. He notes that companies transitioning from experimentation to production are encountering cost pressures they may not have projected.
Tinic's appointment and internal AI strategy reflect Qualcomm's deliberate pivot away from smartphone dependency. The company unveiled new AI accelerator chips to compete with Nvidia and AMD last year, and reported that revenue and earnings exceeded Wall Street expectations in the first two quarters of 2026 even as the global smartphone market faced record contraction. By centralizing AI and data teams and distributing AI tools across the organization, Tinic is positioning the company to scale workflows in data centers, automotive, and IoT—the business lines targeted in Qualcomm's fiscal 2029 revenue goals.
A key insight from Tinic's approach is the recognition that AI adoption at scale requires rethinking entire workflows, not merely automating the margins. Rather than embedding AI resources into individual teams, Tinic created centralized teams to coordinate deployment and governance, with an AI council overseeing legal, security, and compliance. He measures success not by tool adoption alone but through three metrics—volume of work delivered, velocity to market, and quality of output—which align internal AI use with Qualcomm's broader business diversification goals. This framing suggests that managing AI spending and preventing token-cost overruns are real operational challenges companies now face as they move beyond experimentation.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!
Log in to join the discussion
Get curated AI news from 200+ sources delivered daily to your inbox. Free to use.
Get Started FreeFree · takes 30 seconds · unsubscribe anytime
1 minute a day. The AI essentials.
200+ sources · Email / LINE / Slack
