Qualcomm Purchases ATI Mobile Graphics Division from AMD

Qualcomm has announced in a press release that it has purchased AMD’s former mobile graphics chipset division and assets for $64 million in cash with the intention to hire most, if not all of the staff involved in the former division as Qualcomm employees.

The former ATI mobile graphics division was responsible for developing the first widely deployed mobile GPU solution utilized in PDAs and an increasing amount of smart devices, most notably from HTC.  Qualcomm was the first major licensor of the solution and went as far as integrating it at the chipset level within its MSM series of ASICs meant for use in high-end mobile phones.

With the purchase, it is expected that Qualcomm will continue development of its Snapdragon MID platform first announced last year, as well as bringing GPU integration in house for its chipset lines, saving the company millions in licensing fees and development costs.