Qualcomm (QCOM) Stock: CEO Says Robotics Will Be a Major Business Within Two Years

TLDR

• Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told CNBC that robotics will become a “larger opportunity” for the company within two years.
• In January 2026, Qualcomm launched the Dragonwing processor, built specifically for robotics platforms.
• Amon expects robotics to reach meaningful scale by 2027, driven by advances in physical AI.
• Analysts project the general-purpose robotics market at $370 billion by 2040; humanoids alone could hit $9 trillion by 2050.
• QCOM stock was down 2.20% at time of reporting.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon made a clear call at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday: robotics is next.

QUALCOMM Incorporated, QCOM

Speaking to CNBC on March 3, 2026, Amon said robotics will become a “larger opportunity” for Qualcomm within the next two years. That’s not a vague aspiration — it’s a timeline.

The company already made its first move. In January 2026, Qualcomm launched the Dragonwing processor, a chip designed to run across multiple robotics platforms. The idea mirrors how Snapdragon became the go-to processor for Android smartphones — one flexible chip, many devices.

The robotics space covers a wide range — from industrial robotic arms in warehouses to humanoid robots being developed by Tesla and a growing list of Chinese manufacturers. As of Q1 2026, more than 50 humanoid prototypes have been announced globally.

Qualcomm’s pitch is that Dragonwing can do for robotics what Snapdragon did for mobile: become the standard chip across vendors. That would mean cross-platform compatibility and faster adoption across the industry.

The market numbers backing this up are hard to ignore. McKinsey projects general-purpose robots could be a $370 billion market by 2040. RBC Capital Markets puts the humanoid robot total addressable market at $9 trillion by 2050.

The current global robotics market sits at around $67 billion, growing at roughly 12% per year, according to Statista data from February 2026. That growth is being driven in part by demand for AI-enabled processors.

What’s Driving the Push

The increased interest in robotics is tied directly to progress in AI. Amon pointed to what the industry calls “physical AI” — models that allow robots to understand their environment and act on it in real time.

It’s a point echoed by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who last year named robotics as one of his company’s major growth opportunities. Qualcomm is positioning Dragonwing as a competitor in this space, targeting edge computing for real-time robotic cognition.

What the Analysts Are Saying

Financial analysts project that Qualcomm’s robotics revenue could grow fivefold by 2028 if the company hits its timeline, capturing an estimated 15–20% of the physical AI market, according to PwC projections.

The risks are real too. Tesla’s Optimus project, Unitree, and other Chinese players are scaling fast. Supply chain constraints and the high cost of AI training — averaging around $100 million per model per IDC — remain headwinds.

QCOM stock was down 2.20%, trading at $138.40 in after-hours on the day of Amon’s remarks. The drop was attributed in part to broader U.S.-Iran tensions affecting the market.

Robotics was a headline theme at Mobile World Congress this week, with Chinese smartphone maker Honor teasing its first humanoid robot on Sunday.

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