Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon is making a bold prediction: AI agents will eventually replace traditional apps. According to CNBC, Amon laid out a future where users interact with AI assistants rather than individual applications — a shift that would fundamentally reshape how billions of people use their devices.
To get ahead of that shift, Qualcomm is reportedly working on 40 new AI-powered devices. The chip giant sees itself as a kind of infrastructure play for the AI era — what analysts sometimes call a "pick-and-shovel" business model, supplying the underlying hardware whether AI runs on your device locally or streams from the cloud.
Amon is particularly bullish on smart glasses, according to the reporting. He suggested the category could eventually reach a scale comparable to the smartphone — a striking claim given that smartphones represent one of the most successful consumer electronics categories in history.
The framing matters: Qualcomm isn't primarily an AI software company, but its chips power a vast range of Android phones, laptops, and connected gadgets. If AI agents do displace app-based computing, the company that makes the silicon enabling those agents stands to benefit enormously — on-device and in the cloud alike.
Why it matters: If Amon is right, the app stores that have defined mobile computing for nearly two decades could face an existential challenge, and the real winners of the AI era may be the chipmakers quietly powering every device in your pocket and on your face.