Qualcomm has dropped its objections to being acquired by Singapore's Broadcom and is willing to agree a deal with its rival chipmaker if it raises its takeover offer to $160bn including debt, according to people involved in the negotiations.

Microchip maker Broadcom has cut its bid for Qualcomm by 4% to $117 billion as it objected to Qualcomm's decision to raise its own bid for NXP Semiconductors to $44 billion.

Qualcomm and Broadcom plan to meet on Wednesday to talk about the latter's $121 billion acquisition offer, the first time the semiconductor companies will discuss the potential deal, people familiar with the matter said.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem family has been selected by a number of global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for standard-compliant 5G NR mobile device product launches starting in 2019. Those working with Qualcomm include OEMs such as Asus, Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Connected Technologies Limited, HMD Global, HTC, Inseego/Novatel Wireless, LG, NetComm Wireless, NETGEAR, OPPO, Sharp, Sierra Wireless, Sony Mobile, Telit, vivo, Wingtech, WNC, Xiaomi and ZTE.

Broadcom raised its bid for Qualcomm to about $121 billion, seeking to force the rival chipmaker to the negotiating table after Qualcomm rejected an earlier offer as too low.

Samsung Electronics is launching a new chip for cars, tentatively called Exynos Auto, with aims to supply the chip first to Audi that has used chips mostly from Qualcomm, industry sources said on Feb. 5.

Broadcom plans to unveil a new approximately $120 billion offer for Qualcomm on Monday, aiming to ratchet up pressure on its US semiconductor peer to engage in negotiations, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

For several years, Apple has been steadily designing more and more of the chips powering its iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches.

Rumors have started popping up online suggesting that Meizu will no longer release MediaTek-powered smartphones, as the company is focusing more on Exynos and Snapdragon-powered gadgets.

The European Commision (EC), the EU's legislative and regulatory arm, said its investigation, which lasted for more than two years, concluded that Qualcomm paid Apple billions of dollars to keep it from buying LTE baseband chips from Qualcomm's rivals, violating EU antitrust rules.

The acquisition has now received 8 of the 9 approvals around the world, with China remaining.

At CES 2018, Qualcomm Technologies International has announced that its Qualcomm Smart Audio Platform now supports Microsoft Cortana. The platform integrates the hardware and software required to help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) reduce the time and cost of developing smart speakers with support for the intelligent digital assistance provided by Microsoft Cortana.

At Qualcomm's conference on Tuesday, AMD's corporate vice president and GM Kevin Lensing made a surprise guest appearance, announcing that the two companies were working together to power a new line of HP and Asus PCs, powered by Snapdragon 835. The Always Connected PCs are powered by gigabit LTE, to stay connected without relying on Wi-Fi.

Qualcomm has confirmed receipt of Broadcom's nomination of a slate of candidates to replace Qualcomm's existing board of directors at the company's 2018 annual meeting of stockholders.

Qualcomm is seeking to limit sales of the iPhone X in the US with another new round of litigation that accuses Apple of patent infringement.

Chipmaker Broadcom is considering raising its offer to buy rival Qualcomm by offering more of its own stock, following consultation with several of Qualcomm's top shareholders, according to people familiar with the matter.

Qualcomm investors want at least US$10 more than the US$70-a-share Broadcom is offering. If history is any guide, they might get partway there.

While Qualcomm currently has a more advanced 5G modem, Apple engineers believe Intel's technology will satisfy its requirements for a future iPhone.

Qualcomm may win European Union approval for its takeover of NXP Semiconductors by the end of the year after striking a final deal with regulators on patent licensing issues, according to people familiar with the review.

Apple continues to use a mix of Qualcomm and Intel cellular baseband processors in the iPhone X. Teardowns of the handsets also show that the company employed a combination of new and old tricks to pack features into its new flagship smartphone.

Qualcomm is preparing to fend off an unsolicited $100 billion takeover bid from Broadcom Ltd., arguing it undervalues the company, according to people familiar with the plans.

Apple, locked in an intensifying legal fight with Qualcomm, is designing iPhones and iPads for next year that would jettison the chipmaker's components, according to people familiar with the matter.

Richard Clemmer, CEO of NXP Semiconductors, during the company's third quarter financial results announcement, reversed a long-held position in conceding that Qualcomm's $38 billion acquisition of NXP will not happen - as promised - this year. The deal, Clemmer admitted, is likely to slip to "early 2018."

Qualcomm has made its most dramatic legal move yet in its long-running battle against Apple, by seeking to halt manufacturing of the iPhone in China.

The Samsung Exynos 8895 processor is also going to be made on the 10nm manufacturing process like the Snapdragon 830. It's claimed that both Samsung and Qualcomm are working to produce FoPLP (fan-out panel level package) technology which will eliminate the need for a printed circuit board for the package substrate which will be used in both of their next-generation processors.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 could be manufactured on the 7nm FinFET architecture, with TSMC expected to be the chief provider.

Apple may be looking to reduce its reliance on chipmakers Intel and Qualcomm, reportedly working on its own semiconductors for its MacBooks and iPhones.

The tender offer is now scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 20, 2017.

Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf expects auto to be a big area of innovation over the next decade.

A South Korean court on Monday rejected Qualcomm's request to suspend an order by the country's antitrust agency to take corrective action on the way it licenses patents.

Qualcomm has announced that Derek Aberle will leave the company after a successful 17-year career during which he served as president of Qualcomm and helped drive the company's overall global strategy and vision as a member of Qualcomm's executive committee. His departure will be effective as of December 31, 2017.

Apple's progress in 3D sensing design and mass production is 1.5 to 2 years ahead of Qualcomm's, according to a new investor's note released today by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Samsung Electronics has decided to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm chips for next year's Galaxy S9 in an apparent tit-for-tat against the US chipmaker for making new foundry orders with its Taiwanese rival TSMC only, industry sources said on Aug. 21.

Qualcomm Technologies is announcing the acquisition of Scyfer, a company affiliated with University of Amsterdam and focused on cutting-edge machine learning techniques, to add a talented team to its roster.

The US International Trade Commission said it will investigate Apple following allegations by Qualcomm that the iPhone maker is violating six of its non-standards-essential patents. The review is the latest move in an escalating legal battle between the world's largest cellular chip vendor and one of its largest customers.

Qualcomm's already hefty bid to buy rival NXP Semiconductor for about $38 billion could become more expensive now that active investor Elliot Management has entered the picture.

The Snapdragon 845 hasn't surfaced much on the rumor mill, as the processor isn't due for another six months.

Apple and its Asian contract manufacturers are hitting back at Qualcomm with legal claims that try to undermine the chipmaker's attempt to force them to pay licensing fees.