Advancing Data Center AI Infrastructure” – emphasizes the strategic leap in Qualcomm’s architecture for enterprise-scale AI
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has announced the launch of its next-generation AI inference-optimized solutions for data centers: the Qualcomm® AI200 and Qualcomm® AI250 chip-based accelerator cards and racks. These solutions represent a major step forward in enabling scalable, efficient, and secure generative AI across industries, setting new standards in performance, efficiency, and total cost of ownership (TCO).
Building upon Qualcomm’s proven leadership in Neural Processing Unit (NPU) technology, the AI200 and AI250 solutions deliver rack-scale performance and superior memory capacity to handle the most demanding AI inference workloads. Designed specifically for data center-scale deployment, both products empower enterprises and developers to deploy next-generation large language models (LLMs) and multimodal models (LMMs) with unmatched performance per dollar per watt.
AI200: Rack-Level Inference Solution Optimized for Efficiency and Scale
The Qualcomm AI200 introduces a purpose-built, rack-level AI inference solution engineered to deliver low total cost of ownership (TCO) while maximizing performance across large-scale AI workloads. Tailored for generative AI, LLM, and multimodal model inference, the AI200 supports an impressive 768 GB of LPDDR memory per card—a significant increase that enables higher capacity, greater scalability, and lower overall cost.
This high memory density allows enterprises to manage and deploy larger models more efficiently, supporting a wide range of applications from conversational AI and content generation to enterprise knowledge assistants and AI-powered analytics. The AI200 solution is optimized to handle these use cases with exceptional speed, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, giving organizations a robust foundation for scaling AI deployment across their data centers.
AI250: Next-Generation Memory Architecture for Superior Bandwidth and Efficiency
The Qualcomm AI250 solution takes innovation further by introducing an entirely new memory architecture based on near-memory computing. This cutting-edge design represents a generational leap in both memory bandwidth and energy efficiency, offering over 10x higher effective memory bandwidth and significantly lower power consumption compared to traditional architectures.
The AI250’s near-memory computing approach drastically reduces data movement bottlenecks, one of the biggest challenges in AI inference at scale. By bringing computation closer to the data, it ensures faster processing, improved throughput, and enhanced overall system performance—all while maintaining power efficiency. This breakthrough enables disaggregated AI inferencing, allowing customers to utilize hardware resources more efficiently and achieve the right balance between cost, performance, and scalability.
Rack-Scale Design, Cooling, and Connectivity
Both the AI200 and AI250 rack solutions are designed to meet the demanding requirements of modern hyperscaler and enterprise data centers. Each rack integrates direct liquid cooling technology to maintain thermal efficiency and optimize system reliability.
For connectivity and scalability, Qualcomm includes PCIe for scale-up configurations and Ethernet for scale-out deployments, ensuring flexible and modular expansion as workloads grow. Security remains a top priority, with both solutions supporting confidential computing to protect sensitive data and AI workloads during inference operations.
Each rack is designed for 160 kW power consumption, providing the ideal balance between compute density, energy efficiency, and data center operational cost.
Rich Software Stack and Ecosystem Integration
A major highlight of Qualcomm’s AI200 and AI250 solutions is the company’s hyperscaler-grade AI software stack, which spans from the application layer to the system software layer. This software ecosystem has been optimized specifically for AI inference performance and provides a comprehensive set of tools, libraries, and APIs for developers and enterprises.
The stack supports leading machine learning frameworks, inference engines, and generative AI frameworks, as well as cutting-edge LLM/LMM inference optimization techniques such as disaggregated serving. Developers can benefit from seamless model onboarding and one-click deployment of pre-trained models from popular platforms like Hugging Face, made possible through Qualcomm’s Efficient Transformers Library and Qualcomm AI Inference Suite.
These software solutions simplify the process of integrating, managing, and scaling AI workloads, allowing organizations to operationalize AI faster. The stack also includes ready-to-use AI applications and agents, enabling customers to deploy production-grade generative AI models quickly while maintaining full control over performance and cost.
Commitment to Continuous Innovation and Industry-Leading TCO
With these announcements, Qualcomm Technologies reaffirms its long-term commitment to driving innovation in data center AI inference. The company’s multi-generation AI inference roadmap, featuring an annual cadence, ensures a steady stream of improvements in performance, efficiency, and scalability.
The Qualcomm AI200 is scheduled for commercial availability in 2026, followed by the Qualcomm AI250 in 2027. Together, these products mark the beginning of a new era of AI infrastructure solutions that deliver industry-leading TCO—empowering enterprises to harness the power of generative AI without compromising on cost, energy efficiency, or flexibility.
Executive Perspective
“With Qualcomm AI200 and AI250, we’re redefining what’s possible for rack-scale AI inference,” said Durga Malladi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Technology Planning, Edge Solutions & Data Center at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “These innovative new AI infrastructure solutions empower customers to deploy generative AI at unprecedented TCO, while maintaining the flexibility and security modern data centers demand.
“Our rich software stack and open ecosystem support make it easier than ever for developers and enterprises to integrate, manage, and scale already trained AI models on our optimized inference solutions. With seamless compatibility for leading AI frameworks and one-click model deployment, Qualcomm AI200 and AI250 are designed for frictionless adoption and rapid innovation,” Malladi added.
Driving the Future of AI Infrastructure
By combining advanced memory architectures, rack-scale performance, thermal efficiency, and a comprehensive AI software ecosystem, Qualcomm’s AI200 and AI250 solutions position the company at the forefront of the next generation of data center AI infrastructure.
These innovations underscore Qualcomm’s vision to enable secure, efficient, and scalable generative AI—fueling breakthroughs across industries ranging from cloud computing and telecommunications to enterprise software, creative content, and intelligent automation.
With its continued focus on high performance per dollar per watt and its commitment to an annual innovation cycle, Qualcomm Technologies is shaping the future of data center AI—delivering the infrastructure needed to power the next wave of generative intelligence.
About Qualcomm
Qualcomm relentlessly innovates to deliver intelligent computing everywhere, helping the world tackle some of its most important challenges. Building on our 40 years of technology leadership in creating era-defining breakthroughs, we deliver a broad portfolio of solutions built with our leading-edge AI, high-performance, low-power computing, and unrivaled connectivity. Our Snapdragon® platforms power extraordinary consumer experiences, and our Qualcomm Dragonwing™ products empower businesses and industries to scale to new heights. Together with our ecosystem partners, we enable next-generation digital transformation to enrich lives, improve businesses, and advance societies. At Qualcomm, we are engineering human progress.
Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering and research and development functions and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including our QCT semiconductor business. Snapdragon and Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Qualcomm patents are licensed by Qualcomm Incorporated.
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