Qualcomm announces partnerships with Li Auto, Mercedes-Benz

Qualcomm (QCOM) has announced significant new chip partnerships with Li Auto (LI) and Mercedes-Benz (MBG.DE, MBGAF) at its Snapdragon Summit event. The semiconductor giant will provide its advanced Snapdragon automotive chips to both automakers, who plan to integrate them into their future vehicle lineups.

Nakul Duggal, Qualcomm's Group general manager of automotive, industrial and cloud divisions, joins Asking for a Trend alongside Yahoo Finance Autos Reporter Pras Subramanian to discuss the strategic implications of these partnerships.

"What's happening in the car business today is to be able to build software-defying vehicles that have the ability to support AI for the future," Duggal states. While acknowledging gauging what these applications will need to run successfully is difficult, "this platform that we have created allows us to be able to essentially prepare for the rest of the decade."

Duggal explains that as the automotive industry continues to evolve, Qualcomm has strategically focused on building partnerships to ensure the delivery of "best-in-class technologies" across industries while developing platforms capable of continuous evolution.

"It really comes down to how does the car as a platform become an extension of your digital life. Especially as the car is probably one of the more complex platforms. You have to be attentive. You are not supposed to be looking at your phone. You need to be able to communicate with the vehicle through your voice, through your gestures. All of this requires a tremendous amount of technology," he explains, adding, "That's what this partnership is about."