Qualcomm sees automotive, PC as new growth areas in India, focusses on premium smartphones: CMO McGuire

Qualcomm CMO

India is at an inflexion point where market dynamics, socioeconomic factors, and technological advancements create significant opportunities for companies like Qualcomm, says the US semiconductor major's Global Chief Marketing Officer Don McGuire.

While Qualcomm remains focused on strengthening its position in the premium smartphone segment by prioritising value share, despite conceding ground in the 4G and 5G market, it is also betting big on the country’s PC and automotive sector and is collaborating with leading carmakers.

In an interaction with Moneycontrol, McGuire shared that Qualcomm plans to expand its presence in India’s PC and laptop market in 2025. The company aims to scale up operations with a broader portfolio of devices at various price points and a stronger presence in retail and marketing efforts.

The executive also called for a collective effort in the entire ecosystem, including mobile operators, OEMs, channel partners, and technology providers, to drive feature phone to smartphone migration.

Excerpts from the interaction:

Qualcomm lost 4G and 5G market share in India to MediaTek...

We're not really focussed on market share. We're rather focussed on extracting value. That’s how we measure our financial success. The value lies primarily in the premium and high-tier segments, especially in the smartphone category. While we aim to make our technology accessible to a broader audience over time, as we did with the Snapdragon 4S and affordable 5G phones, we always prioritise bringing new technology to premium and high-tier segments first.

The good news for the Indian market is that these segments are experiencing the highest growth. People are upgrading and seeking better technology. They don’t want last year’s technology. They’re hearing about the latest advancements, seeing friends and family adopt them, or noticing them in movies and on TV, and they aspire to own that technology themselves.

We’re here to meet that demand. Whether it’s rising ASPs for smartphones or vehicles, Qualcomm is positioned to provide solutions. With a robust partner ecosystem, we’re confident in our ability to drive continued success.

Can a $100 5G SA chipset help drive feature phone to smartphone migration in India?

It’s a collective effort. It’s not just on us. The entire ecosystem plays a role—mobile operators, OEMs, channel partners, technology providers—everyone is part of the orchestration. The goal is to recognise the benefits of migration and act on the market opportunities.

There are clear benefits across the ecosystem. For mobile operators, moving users off feature phones and onto 5G networks reduces costs and allows for sunsetting legacy networks. When partners approach us with the intention of aggressively driving feature phone migration, we offer solutions that can help achieve that.

We like to cascade our technology down to more affordable tiers as R&D investments are amortised and value is realised. This enables us to deliver advanced technology at a lower cost, as we’ve seen with 5G and anticipate seeing with AI.

Has India become more critical for Qualcomm, given better performance than other global markets?

India has always been vital, not just as a consumer market but also as a hub for talent—it’s our second-largest employee base outside the US.

India is at an inflection point where market dynamics, socioeconomic factors, and technology evolution align to create immense opportunity. For example, in automotive, India’s lack of legacy baggage allows for faster electrification and digital transformation adoption compared to markets with entrenched legacy systems. This accelerates the deployment of Snapdragon automotive platforms and other solutions.

Each category—whether automotive, smartphones, or IoT—presents unique growth levers in the Indian market.

Is India’s laptop and PC market reacting slowly to your chipsets?

Our PC launch strategy combines acceleration and scale. We began in July, which aligns with the global market cycle and will continue the launch phase through the end of the year.

In 2025, we’ll shift to the growth phase, scaling up with a broader portfolio of devices, diverse price points, and increased presence in retail and marketing. While India’s PC market is relatively small at 4.4 million units, it’s growing with customers moving towards higher-value devices. Snapdragon-powered laptops will play a role in this upward trend.

Will you approach spatial computing aggressively with Meta for Ray-Ban Glasses?

The field of spatial computing is still wide open. Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, for instance, have seen far greater demand than supply, signalling strong potential in India. Companies like Meta must define markets such as India as opportunities. At the same time, India has the potential to develop a homegrown device ecosystem for spatial computing, which could be very exciting.

What is Qualcomm doing in India to develop AI in chipsets?

We believe in open platforms and the democratisation of technology. That’s our philosophy. However, we also understand the importance of a localised approach, especially with technologies like AI. Nations are building their LLMs and will require solutions tailored to their unique needs. We’ve developed tools like the AI Hub to enable developers to work on Snapdragon platforms and build localised solutions by country, enterprise, or other parameters.