Tenstorrent CEO Jim Keller denies Qualcomm acquisition talks

What's the deal? Tenstorrent CEO Jim KellerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has denied that the AI chip startup is in acquisition talks with Qualcomm, pushing back on earlier reports of a possible $8bn to $10bn deal. Speaking at a media event in Tokyo in late June 2026, Keller said the company is focused on building its own business, including its IP operations and high-end scalable AI work in Japan and other markets.

What did he say? Keller made clear that a Qualcomm takeover is not currently on the table, though he left the door open to partnerships, noting that Tenstorrent talks with many companies in strategic areas and that interest in big deals across the sector has increased.

The context. The denial follows reports in mid-June 2026 that Qualcomm was in talks to acquire Tenstorrent for up to $10bn. As a result, the unverified acquisition round previously recorded on Tenstorrent's profile has been removed. Tenstorrent, founded in 2016 and led by former Apple and Tesla chip designer Keller, develops RISC-V-based accelerators for training and running AI models, positioning itself as an open-source challenger to Nvidia.

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