Qualcomm (/ˈkwɒlkɒm/)[2] is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware.[3] It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G,[4] 4G,[4] CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA and WCDMA mobile communications standards.
Qualcomm was established in 1985 by Irwin M. Jacobs and six other co-founders. Its early research into CDMA wireless cell phone technology was funded by selling a two-way mobile digital satellite communications system known as Omnitracs. After a heated debate in the wireless industry, the 2G standard was adopted with Qualcomm’s CDMA patents incorporated.[5] Afterwards there was a series of legal disputes about pricing for licensing patents required by the standard.
Over the years, Qualcomm has expanded into selling semiconductor products in a predominantly fabless manufacturing model. It also developed semiconductor components or software for vehicles, watches, laptops, wi-fi, smartphones, and other devices.